Good morning Positive Arsenal fans,
An early evening victory over a genuinely plucky Blackpool was an easy watch. The game had a balance of decent football from both teams and was enough of a contest until our third goal to ensure that nagging doubt lurked in the back of my mind. We had seen the Seasiders at the Ems in the Autumn and they had put up a good show then so the final 60/40 possession statistics were no fluke. A certain hint of controversy for our first and second goals ? Well possibly, both tight calls and in the great scheme of football ‘things’, as I often say, swings and roundabouts, swings and roundabouts.
Of our lads Joe Willock is gathering the deserved praise for his two goals, both the result of his brain being half a second faster than the home defenders to a bouncing ball in the 6 yard box. Eddie Nketiah managed to create three chances but convert none, though Blackpool’s keeper can take credit for at least one very good save. And Alex Iwobi put on the sort of creative performance that we know he is capable of. Our young Nigerian did his work in a highly disciplined way though, rarely wasting a pass or losing possession. At the back Jenko earned praise for his hard work and concentration. After a jittery start Sokratis imposed himself on the Blackpool forward line. AMN put a solid claim in for a starting place on the right flank.
For our opponents they had their chances to score and on another evening the final score could have been closer than 3-0. I have no idea what is going on at the club between the fans and the owners, other than it has been going on for many years, with fan boycotts, court cases and much, much abuse. It resulted in an elf clambering on to our coach roof in an effort to delay the start of the game, which on the scale of bizarre protest is a 9.
Instinctively I am on the fans’ side but the thousands of empty seats at Bloomfield Road last night, did not suggest to me that either side is on the brink of whatever constitutes ‘victory’. A snapshot for Arsenal fans of what life is like on ‘the other side’.
A week off now until a Saturday lunchtime kick off at West Ham, and a little break I am looking forward to.
Have a good six days.
Positively Arsenal 
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
7h7 hours ago
Emery says Mavropanos will play for U23s soon. Next match is against Man City on Monday.
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Jonathan Moss has been appointed as the referee for Saturdays early kick-off away to West Ham United.
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Thank god for that – points virtually in the bag before the whistle is blown.
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George had an article on here some time ago, he oft shares a link to it on twitter, about AFC maybe deciding not to push for top 4 or some thing like that
well the comments today by UE “We cannot sign permanently. We can only loan players. Only loan players.” might just be another indication of that. Maybe, just maybe the new guys have gone full on Billy Beane moneyball, they have done the maths, they have looked at all the stats, etc etc, and decided that whatever funds we have for this summers transfers can not be depleted in January, on the chance we make top 4, maybe they have decided that a couple of loan signings will improve us enough to get give us that better chance of a CL place next season.
By the way, would us paying £20m for Denis Suarez, instead of taking him on loan, make Denis Suarez a better player. If no, then why would we pay £20M if deal can be done without such a large outlay.
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Lots of talk about the Ornstein article’s statement that the club pulled out of an “agreement” but that there was no physical contract for Aaron to sign. That’s not a revelation to me, as it’s what Aaron said: “we thought we had agreed”. I always believed him. No, here’s what caught my eye:
“The likelihood is Ramsey’s next club, with no transfer fee to pay, will make him the best-paid British player of all time.”
Go ahead, son. Tell the haters to put that in their pipes and smoke it.
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I suppose there is a question about whether signing players is more likely or less likely to achieve a goal of a Top 4 PL finish. We have not been reluctant to sign players and to pay good money for them for the past three seasons but we missed the CL in the preceding two and have a good battle on our hands this year. Would Denis Suárez alter that difficulty? I’d say Emery’s job is to focus on the players he has and get the best out of them without worrying about loans and transfers, although I appreciate he has to answer the window obsessed media questions put to him.
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I like the fact Ramsey might become the highest paid British footballer of all time. But the fact he’ll likely be winning titles every season without stress and abuse from fans is more than a bonus. Isn’t that what so called great players do that make them highly rated? All I wish him is injury free seasons wherever he chooses to go. Then those who expect him to warm the bench will have to wait a long time.
for the sake of arsenal,I hope the whole truth about this doesn’t come out especially if Ramsey should go on to fulfill his great potential. And if the truth eventually comes out, I hope emery isn’t involved as that might be one of his greatest managerial mistake not only at arsenal but his entire career. This is not a case of a player refusing to commit to the club or for forcing them to sell because of the player’s attitude or indiscipline. Ramsey is a perfect footballer and gentleman. A man very difficult to dislike on and off the pitch. What could have warranted this self inflicted mess is. Beyond me.
We have seen some players like Alexis, nastri rvp fabregas leave because the club was forced to sell.but this is highly untenable.
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I would see it like this. At the start of the season Emery was relatively happy with the players he had inherited and those he had just bought. After a difficult first two games that group of players went on a long winning run (without always playing particularly well). During that time he probably had a long think about each and every one of them and also began to think about the replacements and reinforcements he would like to make. He would perhaps also have been made aware of how much money would be available for transfers, re-signings and wages. For all sorts of reasons AR didn’t fit in with those plans and calculations (tactics, finance, ambition), and so the discussions on his contract stalled and then foundered.
Separate from that a not untypical Arsenal injury crisis developed in December and so the side became unbalanced and lost its way a little. This caused a not very loyal and not at all patient fan-base to become panicked and disgruntled. Very few sides in the League would cope with as many defensive injuries at the same time as Arsenal had to cope with – imagine, for example, Liverpool without Van Dyke, Lovren, Robinson and Milner. I wonder how the pundits would react to that situation.
The reality is that only Welbeck and Holding are out long-term – the other wounded are now returning to action, and so while it would be nice to sign everyone under the sun, Arsenal’s situation is not massively different now to how it was in September. To that extent I can see no obvious benefit in signing new players in January, unless they have already been identified as long term targets. If it is possible to get a possible long-termer in on loan then that would make good sense as it would effectively act as an extended trial) and I suppose that that is what has sparked the Suarez rumours, especially as he would act as cover for Mkhitaryan who is out for a little while yet.
And it would also seem to me unreasonable to expect every transfer window to bring forth expensive goodies: we have not done too badly of late in that sphere.
And lest any should think otherwise, I am sad that Ramsey is to leave, and had I been manager would have wanted him to stay.
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Robbie says that he feels sorry for Unai and his situation, because they are being asked to work miracles.
Its a shame that he and his pals cant look at what AW did since our move to the Emirates, and also the endless poop that came Wengers way, from places like aftv.
Arsenal needs fan base as the 12th man not 5th columnists.
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“Arsenal needs a fan base as the 12th man not the 5th column”
I like that – consider it stolen.
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Your welcome mate!
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Doubt I’ll ever change in always hoping for exciting new signings (but maybe I’ll be better for a bit next time title or CL in bag!)
Plus if we’re sticking for this window is that it increases chances of young players getting minutes and working with first team.
Also could/should mean a bit more available in summer, which is known as a better time to do business.
Finally, a little reminder this morning, that not all transfers work, and not all players live up to their youtube vids.
Saw the name Riechedly Bazoer on a list of players moving. A loan from Wolfsburg to Utrecht, after a loan to Porto in the summer presumably got cancelled (after two appearances)
He was talked up a hell of a lot a couple of years back after a good 12 months at Ajax. Supposedly loads of top clubs after him prior to Wolfsburg transfer.
Looks like one big struggle for him ever since.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/10/football-gambling-dire-consequences-young-men-bet-new-study
This is an interesting sobering read, folks
Thankfully, not an issue which affects me at all, though the way gambling is promoted around sport has turned my stomach for years and I’ve always suspected has led to a lot of harm, especially for the generations just after mine.
I had a bit of a problem, moons ago, with visiting casino’s quite often when steaming drunk after a night in town, and boy it led to some horrific day’s after.
Firmly a thing of past, thank fuck, but it still makes me angry and sad seeing gambling promoted relentlessly as fun, fun, fun, cool, cool, cool.
The article might even help account, a little, for some of the reactions and ways of younger fans especially on twitter.
If there are plenty out there constantly viewing games through the prism of betting…well, their experience is guaranteed to be so different from just watching a game any other way.
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Rich, I’ll lay you 5 to 1 that…………….oh never mind.
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Rich – you are right: gambling is a horrific addiction for many, and the spread of it in recent years has been exponential. The riches in the game come from the TV money, and the TV money is paid for largely by advertising, and most of the adverts are for gambling. And bookmakers know the odds better than punters, which is why first goalscorer, next goalscorer bets are never value. And if accumulators on short priced favourites come unstuck by home bankers turned into plucky draws due to offside quibbles or penalties waved away then what’s not to like for Billy Hilll and his mates.
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Most of the cash paid by Sky and BT comes from subscribers rather than advertising FH although in the case of BT the long suffering shareholders are financing it through corporate debt. If the cash came through TV advertising ITV would never have lost its place.
Gambling though ? The most ruinous of addictions. There is a human limit to other addictions such as heroin, alcohol as you will keel over when you’ve had too much. If you ignore Mother Nature then eventually you die. Even sex addicts eventually run out of steam. The gambler never has a limit – there is always one more bet to place and someone to take it.
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I mentioned on here pre Christmas about the chief exec of Bet356 getting paid around €300M last year, having been paid somewhere in the region of €250M the year before. To me if it were €250K to €300K it would be outrageous, but for it to be what it is, simply put its a scandal.
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Arsenal Fixture News
@AFCFixtureNews
Our FA Cup 4th Round tie against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium has been confirmed for Friday 25th January, Kick Off 7:55pm.
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Keenos
@KeenosAFC
2h2 hours ago
Darren Dein takes his client Cesc Fabregas to Monaco, who are managed by his client Thierry Henry
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Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
5h5 hours ago
Arsenal or Tottenham will host West Brom or QPR in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
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New post up
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