Good Morning Fans of the Positive,
A slightly fuzzy morning up here in Norfolk as a result of mixing the grain and the grape, so excuse the sluurrrrrring and dribbling below. I’m entitled though, and I know it.
And why am I entitled ? Because after a fortnight of being told about the best team in London, indeed the best team ever to grace the green sward of a football pitch anywhere- ever, about the genius that is Mauricio Pochettino, we hammered the bastards yesterday. Left them flat on their back, gasping, dizzy, their manager whining about referees and injured players. How I laughed.
Let’s just get one thing clear. Spurs were not “bad”, Spurs did not play “rubbish”. They played well in phases, and made chances. They have good players and will certainly be up and around a CL places this season. However, we were better than them over the 94 minutes, by a country mile.
Of the game itself I congratulate the Premier League in their wise appointment of Mr Michael Dean to officiate. The rampant paranoia that the official generated in the days before kick off brought Arsenal fans in the Ems and even at home in to a frenzy of outrage, just right to ensure that he knew we were watching his every move. In consequence Mike, his friends all call him Mike, whistled and pointed with a fury rarely seen outside a busy traffic intersection in central Rome at 3 p.m. on a Friday. In the first ten minutes I thought he may wear his whistle out so vigorous was his enthusiasm for enforcing the rules of the game. He is not my favourite official but not a bad afternoon for the Wirral whistler.
Of our brave lads a team performance to match any we have put together over the past ten years, perhaps longer. There was a quality there, as there almost always is in our passing and movement. Lacca was sharp at the tip, and Sanchez and Mesut constantly cutting the Lilywhites open. The three central defenders were like a wall and missed nothing. Is the Monreal, Mustfi, Kosc defensive combination our best ? I think so. But there was also intense concentration. I did not see any player ‘strolling’ at any point in the game. We were never caught out by a quick ball. Eriksen created zero. Every man in a red shirt had his job and he applied himself. I don’t always see that.
It is an enormously difficult performance in which to pick out Arsenal players who stood out, as they all did. I will however be a devil and go for Granit Xhaka. The Swiss Kosovian was all over the pitch, put the boot in early to the cheating Dele Ali, and then 60 minutes in which he did not put a stud wrong. Having got on to the high wire Granit’s balance was perfect.
So let us enjoy the glow of victory for 24 hours and savour the discomfort of the neighbours, seemingly so near at 12.29 and still so very far away by 2.35. How many seasons is this ?
The result keeps us in the CL pack and with some intriguing domestic games in prospect, starting with Burnley.
Enjoy your Sunday and we shall met again when Cologne have been negotiated.
+ Three happy Gooners
Positively Arsenal 
The media getting more of a kicking with another of their darlings, Pullis, getting the boot.
Anyone would think all these foreign owners don’t like hump it and see football
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Ranty,
If I may I have a hypothesis to share with you:
Ozil is German-Turkish. He is literally a Hun.
And he is taking se piss out of se English here with his Engish cup of tea (English Breakfast I think).
General Jack D. Ripper (of Dr.Strangeglove fame) would not stand for this level of insult, this threat to his precious bodily fluids, the threat to the nation, and all that is sacred and pure.
Where would we be without such stand up heroes like the crew from the Sunday Supplement defending the nation and all that is holy and sacred? (Managing a draw against Iceland….?).
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I see Emmanuel Adebayor is having a dig at Arsenal for whatever unknown reason, claiming Wenger put too much pressure on him having to “play with children.”
“I was the strongest player on the team, despite the fact that I weighed 73kg, Chelsea had [Michael] Essien and [Michael] Ballack in midfield. We had Rosicky.
“If you said as much as ‘how are you’ to him, he would then be injured for two- and-a-half months.”
Let me just take another sip from my cup of tea.
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The above must explain how a post injury Rosicky scored more goals against Tottenham then Adebayor did (as a striker).
Rose (bestest FB ever in Europe!) to Rosicky:
What was it Ade told me to say when he was picking up his pension check the other week…
“How do you do…?”
Rosicky to Rose:
“See ya! (Again. And again. And again…)”
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Scouts costing two million to recruit! I am sure Sven M is very good,and can bring in a lot of value, but the games gone mad!
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One of the finest bits of business Arsene has ever done – Manchester City have still never forgiven us.
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Pulis sacked?
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Ah fins,
I think you’re correct – P taking tea sipping.
What’s the world coming to?
Great comment on UA too.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5100755/Arsenal-set-secure-Borussia-Dortmund-s-Michael-Zorc.html
this a bizarre mix-up from Mail? thought all talk was we were about to hire Dortmund’s transfer guy, not sporting director?
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Think I have seen some reports suggesting we are getting Sven and Zorc, then there was the guy from Barca- very confusing
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this disgraceful piece is from the Telegraph, seems its trying to muscle in on the like of the Sun or Daily Mail, –really is time for Arsenal to grow a pair and ban each and every journo or publication that indulges in this sort of awful attack of Arsenal, any member of Arsenal, Sir Red Nose would have have stood for it at Man Utd, why the fuck do we. I stated this morning, its time for Arsenal blog world and twitter world to take the fight to the nasty media, this piece just confirms my view
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Sven Mislintat appointed head of recruitment
20 Nov 2017
https://www.arsenal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_16x9/public/images/sven.jpg?itok=o-i6Ks4U
Sven Mislintat – one of Europe’s most respected player recruitment experts – is joining us from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
He is credited with creating the pipeline of young talent at Dortmund which has produced the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa and Ousmane Dembele.
Sven has been at Dortmund for 10 years and becomes our head of recruitment with responsibilities across the first team and academy. He starts in December and will work closely with manager Arsène Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis, plus other coaches, the background analytics team and our global scouting network.
Arsène Wenger said: “We are delighted that Sven is joining us. Identifying and developing talent is a core part of our philosophy and Sven has an outstanding track record over many years. We look forward to him taking our existing recruitment approach forwards.”
Meanwhile our long-serving chief scout Steve Rowley, who has been responsible for unearthing many talents over his 25 years of employment with the club, has stood down from his role but will continue to maintain his relationship and support us with ad hoc scouting on a consultancy basis.
Wenger said, “We would like to thank Steve Rowley for all his hard work over many years for the club. He has been a key figure in our recruitment of so many top players and has travelled thousands and thousands of miles, watching hundreds of games for us during his time at the club. We wish him well for the future.”
Copyright 2017 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 https://www.arsenal.com/news/sven-mislintat-appointed-head-recruitment#yYtDcucdgIg459dO.99
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/sven-mislintat-appointed-head-recruitment#m2PK2x8ee6fDMFcA.99
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Wenger on Rowley: “We’d like to thank Steve for all his hard work over many years for the club. He has been a key figure in our recruitment of so many top players and has travelled thousands and thousands of miles, watching hundreds of games for us during his time at the club”
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Welcome Sven,its now official.Has certainly scouted an impressive list of players.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/sven-mislintat-appointed-head-recruitment
Sounds like there are Spud fans as editors in the Telegraph. But for once, I am pleased with the media, Arsenal played the game with real bite, I am sure partly inspired by all those stupid combined teams and other articles questioning them
But that Telegraph comment reeks of bitterness, somebody is clearly hurting, and to me, if its one of these journalistic idiots, that can only be a good thing.
But the Spud loving media as a whole look very silly now, even more so than usual and reading Mustafis comments, looks like the team are developing a healthy siege mentality, which can inspire some
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Arsenal FCVerified account @Arsenal
32m32 minutes ago
#AFCU23 are back in action tonight against @SwansOfficial – and here’s how we line up: Keto, Bola, Moore, Pleguezuelo, Medley, Omole, Eyoma, Gilmour, Dragomir, Smith Rowe, John Jules
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What is Mesut Ozil’s favourite drink?
A storm in a teacup.
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link for the u23 game, swans 1-0 up at the moment
https://www.swanseacity.com/media/23449
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HT: Swansea U23’s 1-0 Arsenal U23’s
Swans took the lead after 5 minutes and have hit the woodwork 3 times too. A very young Arsenal side are struggling so far.
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Since Shkodran Mustafi signed, Arsenal’s goal difference is +35 from his 32 starts and just +4 from the 18 games he missed. [@WhoScored]
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Swansea City AFCVerified account @SwansOfficial
19m19 minutes ago
Goal. @Arsenal equalise from the penalty spot as Charlie Gilmour tucks away after Dragomir was fouled in the area.
#SwansU23s ⚪️ 1-1 🔴 (64′)
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Swansea City AFCVerified account @SwansOfficial
2m2 minutes ago
#SwansU23s retake the lead with five minutes remaining as @G_byers turns in a @KenjiGorre cross for his second goal of the game!
#PL2 ⚪️ 2-1 🔴 (85′)
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Swansea City AFCVerified account @SwansOfficial
3m3 minutes ago
That’s all from Landore, where #SwansU23s claimed their third win in #PL2 after a 3-1 victory over Arsenal!
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Considering the driving rain and the state of the pitch and the size of the opposition our young side done well.
I think their playing again Friday so no rest there unless there is alot of rotation.
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ian unlikely to have much scope for rotation with it very likely that most of the regular u23’s will make up most of the EL squad on Thursday away to Koln.
Tonight half the team ranged from 16 years old to 18 years old, and the two oldest players are 20 years old, all the rest of squad are teenagers.
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Xavier Amaechi made his U23 debut tonight as a second half sub, meaning we finished the game with two 16 year olds on the pitch for us, Tyreece John-Jules being the other
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No faith in referees?
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An example of how poor our football, pundits can be…
https://twitter.com/sundaysupp/status/932206574701080576
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That poor fellow is so upset he has forgotten the Bale years.
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‘Arry’s finest hour and all that?
All gone. It never happened! L.O.L.S.O.S.
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That clip is almost as funny as the gif of Ozil drinking a cup of tea.
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I’m going to skip coffee tommorow morning and opt for a nice cup of tea.
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farewell Tony Pulis.
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https://news.paddypower.com/football/2017/11/20/ozil-tea/?AFF_ID=16562&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&dclid=CMGeqPn8zdcCFYeMsgodgpsMjA
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so much for my hope that Arsenal blogs would put aside their need for clicks by attacking the club at every opportunity, and instead use this spat with the media to unite the fan base, and stop the bashing of all things Arsenal. Here is the first headline I seen on NewsNow Arsenal today from an Arsenal blog
“CEO lands major blow to Wenger power grip with huge backroom signing”
as you can see from the headline, its designed to stir the pot, split the fan base, bash a member of staff, pit one side against another, without even the slightest bit of evidence to back up the headline, just assumptions. Arsenal appoint a new head scout, is the bases of the article, something welcomed by Wenger, but that does not stop this particular vile blogger continue his usual nonsense of promoting a divide in the fan base. There are clicks in being negative is clearly his MO.
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Meh..Anyone who takes Le Grove seriously anymore is an idiot and would still be an idiot without that blog shite spewing its filth.
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shard. but did anyone ever take that toxic bollox seriously?
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Ed, Moore has been around for years he must be about thirty by now and he really is a big unit
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ian, Tafari Moore turned 20 in the summer
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lee mason the ref for our game away to Burnley
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What’s happened to the odious Anthony Taylor? Usually one of the chosen for a northern fix up.
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GP,that pen was in which game? Ha that was tough!
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I have a feeling Zim Paul would be pretty happy with the way the last few days have turned out.
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And Frank too Heady
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The Official WWYFC @WhetstoneWandFC
6h6 hours ago
We are delighted to be chosen as an official link club to ARSENAL FC. Arsenal will support us by providing insight to their coaching methods & access to coaching equipment. We look forward to working with Arsenal as we continue to help our young players fulfil their potential ⚽
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what position is OX playing for liverpool tonight – right bench, left bench or his preferred central bench
on a serious note, how come the journos are ignoring how this £40M signing is not getting a start at Liverpool, he is lucky if he gets 20 minute run out, yet same journos have written many articles on Lacazette not playing the full 90 minutes for AFC, and even some on him not starting the LFC and MC games. Its almost as if there is different standards being applied.
OX was, when at AFC, a regular for England if fit, he played in most of our games last season, had a fine game in the cup final, but seemingly left so he could be a regular starter in his favored CM position, a position that as far as I know, Liverpool have not played him in so far, and he recently got dropped from the England squad due to lack of game time for LFC, but the media only ran articles about how Wilshere lost his England place due to Arsenal not playing him more.
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Cannot be sure, but get the impression Ox has let an agent lead him into a serious mistake
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Just in case anyone out there is a serial procrastinator, or is wallowing in the luxury of a few days off, then I enjoyed reading this from an exasperated West Ham fan.
http://thehlist.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/watford-2-0-west-ham-and-other-ramblings.html
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While I would have preferred it to be a more deserving cheat I am pleased to see Niasse has picked up a 2 game ban today.
Good.
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Like fuck is Wright a true Arsenal fan. There can’t be a true Arsenal fan who doesn’t feel sick at the thought of Ozil in a Utd shirt.
Wright even manages to get it wrong by suggesting key to Ozil playing well is what’s in front of him, whereas, important as that is, you can’t even think of him playing near his capabilities unless team is sorted behind him.
Merson chucking in his usual shite as well. ‘friends’, legends, like these eh
http://metro.co.uk/2017/11/22/ian-wright-believes-arsene-wenger-has-failed-mesut-ozil-and-manchester-united-are-the-perfect-club-for-arsenal-contract-rebel-7100246/
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Team news: Welbeck, Nelson and Nketiah
22 Nov 2017
image: https://www.arsenal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_16x9/public/images/WENG_3.jpg?itok=m8BvneYo
image: https://www.arsenal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_16x9/public/images/WENG_3.jpg?itok=m8BvneYo
Arsene Wenger has made wholesale changes to his squad for our Europa League clash with Cologne.
A point will be enough to clinch top spot in Group H and here’s who might be involved on Thursday night:
on the team news…
Well, we have an experienced team. Overall I believe that you will see that every single player has a big experience in the Premier League.
on the younger players…
We have brought some young players as well who have played in former games and done extremely well, like Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. Overall I believe we have a good mix between experience and young players.
on whether Danny Welbeck might start…
Yes.
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/team-news-welbeck-nelson-and-nketiah#i7q5PDkbZe8mUQ4T.99
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/team-news-welbeck-nelson-and-nketiah#MFYiIW2F30qgYoep.99
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