There is never an ideal time for any team to play Manchester City, whether home or away, but here we are.
Good day one and all…
It’s going to be the battle of the Spanish managers this afternoon as Unai Emery take his Arsenal side to the Etihad to take on compatriot Pep Guardiola’s Mancity. It was another of their countrymen though that outwitted the latter using vintage Rafa-ball midweek.
Before their unexpected 2-1 defeat to Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle the Citizens has been on a rampage, scoring 33 goals to just two in an eight-game winning streak. Following the SJP lack of inspiration Pep will demand a very strong reaction, so we can expect them to fight tooth and nail to not only put that disappointment behind them but to also reduce Liverpool’s lead in the log standings.
Arsenal have a different agenda though as we just want to ensure we stay in the fight for a 4th spot which is up for grabs between ourselves, Chelsea and Manutd – at this point still very much in our own hands.
Games against Mancity haven’t been easy for us in recent history and being down to the bare bones at defense was certainly the last thing needed in preparation for this trip. Mancity have scored 11 goals to one in the last four matches between these two sides, we also lost seven times in our last 11 visits there.
Given that record what Arsenal probably need to do is play from the back and hope to break on the counter but Emery said he will take Mancity on at their own game. To be honest I like it. Pep is not going to let that type of complacency at SJP happen at the Etihad and will pick an ultra-attacking lineup. so we might as well just go for it than to allow them to relentlessly build attacking wave after wave without getting a look in.
Going that route is going to be one enormous task but for the last six weeks all we as fans asked for, begged for, is for the team to get out of their shell and display the type of bravery that saw us going on that amazing unbeaten streak, and if that is something Emery want to go back to I think we should applaud it.
Attacking teams’ defense rarely get tested and if we can get both Aubameyang and Lacazette to run at them who knows, we may just win our first away game against a top-six side following a 20 winless streak.
With almost two thirds of the season done and dusted, it’s time that we put the foot on the accelerator. A must-win for both sides which could either be a thrilling contest or quite a long afternoon for us… but because I respect bravery I will definitely be rooting for the former.
@LaboGoon
Positively Arsenal 
<< and just in case the vast majority of Arsenal Blaggers have chronic dementia:
What applies to Saachi applies to our very own GG too.
Hello!
The interviews on the Bergkamp Wonderland and other podcasts with Limpar and Davies were very revealing. And tragic! For Arsenal football club potentially. But the club found a manager with the vision to match their aspirations.
As George asked at the start of the season: have those aspirations changed?
The answer appears to be self-explanatory.
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Still waiting for a Blagger to cover that Fizman to Kronke deathbed handover and their little chat (contract) on values and aspirations.
Don’t think we’re ever going to see or hear it.
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Arsenal Academy
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47m47 minutes ago
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
📝 Here’s how #AFCU23 line up in the #PL2 against @WestHamUtd this evening…
XI: Iliev, Osei-Tutu, Mavropanos, Pleguezuelo, Thompson, Gilmour, Willock, Mkhitaryan, Amaechi, Nketiah, Saka
BENCH: Okonkwo, Ballard, Olayinka, Medley, Coyle
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fins very simply put, the reason why there are no articles on the Fiszman to Kroenke sale, is that as you say it was a death bed deal, and one party is dead, and the other has no reason to ever give details of it, why should he, after all he did not have to explain any of the deals for any of his Arsenal shares, nor should he have to.
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The Latest Edition of The Yorkie Show where we Rock Around The Clock with some Old Time Rock n Roll, because Rock n Roll is King, and you will want to Come on Back, to not only listen to the great Music, but the awful puns too
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Thanks eds i think you sum it up better then I!
Looking at what Timmy Payton’s mates at Everton have spent to get them where they are today, it was not an enviable call for Fizman!
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–
On further reflection I find it inconsistent at best that the AFC manager would sit there lauding the Football of Pep Guardiola’s teams but not play a footballer who would waltz right into any of his teams!
Baffling is the right word for it then.
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Arsenal Academy
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4m4 minutes ago
GET IN THERE 😅
@EddieNketiah9 opens the scoring with a cool finish at the near post 🎯
🔴 1-0 ⚒ (32)
YESSSSSSSSS! 🙌 @Joewillock charges into the box and doubles our lead with a first-time finish 🔴 2-0 ⚒ (35)
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Arsenal Academy
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42s43 seconds ago
DINOS MAKES IT THREE 🔥
🔴 3-0 ⚒ (45)
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Arsenal Academy
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2m2 minutes ago
HALF-TIME: #AFCU23 3-0 West Ham
We lead at the break thanks to goals from @EddieNketiah9, @JoeWillock and Mavropanos 👏
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<<
The debate upon these pages about Arsenal's creativity in recent seasons was not:
Have Arsenal the right attacking midfielders or playmakers?
It was:
Is Arsenal's top level interior/inside forward/second striker so much of an egomaniac that in the absence of Cazorla and his own supernova ego explosion sometime in 2017 more of a hindrance to the team's creativity then a benefit. I only saw him genuinely refuse to pass in that last period when he was playing the Manchester clubs off each other, but the club did the right thing with him and played him even when he was meant to be gone (but was too busy haggling to move!).
Some even called out Alexis as a morale sapping egomaniac from his first game. Which was astute I may say so, although he only became truly toxic amidst his later haggling (& after some injuries too).
Not a debate that involved me that much, but I enjoyed reading all of your thoughts and opinions on the subject.
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Arsenal Academy
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1m1 minute ago
UPDATE: Play has been suspended for five minutes at Meadow Park due to fog 🚨
#AFCU23
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Arsenal Academy
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25s25 seconds ago
Our #PL2 clash with @WestHamUtd has been abandoned due to adverse weather conditions…
#AFCU23
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Liverpool get yet another dodgy decision in their favour.
Actually want City to win it this year for all the faults of their funding
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Nightmare for the U23S, especially those who were trying to get much needed game time like Miki. Sounds like they had totally bossed the first half as well.
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The press reporting Klopp moaning about officials again.
If he is being reported accurately, then he really needs to look at decisions Liverpool have benefitted from this, and it seems most seasons, including one or two last night
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Klopp only sings when he is winning, but when he isn’t looks to blame all but him. It is not a particularly attractive look. Some big matches lie ahead for those with Title and/or Top 4 ambitions and it should prove to be a fascinating final third of the season.
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This is not meant as a defense of Klopp. I have a strange feeling about him. I think he’s a good guy and I generally like him. But I also can’t stand him. He’s… too much… even when he’s not being hypocritical and self righteous.
I think it’s just interesting because Klopp might be fighting for his legacy at the club. He’s had all this time, all this money and he’s received nothing but favourable press. If he still can’t win trophies this season, I think that tide might start to turn. It’s easier to keep lying when you are trying to bring someone down (Wenger). Much tougher to do when you keep lying to prop someone up. (Klopp n Poch)
Does anyone remember the name of Bayer Leverkusen’s manager in 2002? He used to smoke cigarettes on the sidelines. They lost in the CL final, lost in the cup final and lost the league at the end to Bayern. Runners up in all 3 competitions. Klopp may not have the record of doing it all in the same season, but he’s lost 2 European cup finals, and if he slips up in the league, he might go the same way as the Leverkusen boss. The eccentric German coach.
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So we are out of the top4 and I am sure Wobs will be blaming Wenger to have left us with such a big mess.
Now with a easy run in as compared to Chelsea and United we may finish above them and suddenly UE will be the saviuor and it will be UE team.
Nevertheless we finish In top4 or not I will not support UE for the kind of game he has offered us to watch and turning an attacking outfit to a primarily defencive team in addition to losing your club identity of attack minded team.
Benching your best players is mind boggling and unexplainable. The 22 match unbeaten run was never glorious in my eyes as it lacked the eye catching stuff we were used to watch during Wenger days.
To be honest Arsenal are in an identity crisis.
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If that’s his version of a defensive team Rosicky, he really needs some help in coaching. Our defending is generally appalling.
Not sure if he is truly a defensive coach, don’t really think Seville or PSG were masters of the art. His problem is too many defenders injured causing instability meaning third choices being played, and issues with creativity in mf, the lack of creativity latter puts pressure on the forwards and defenders through making life too easy for opponents. I don’t really get the issues with Ramsey and Özil, but suspect there must be things we don’t know about, especially with the latter, perhaps emery thinks for some reason, he is not able to play to his peak, who knows.
I know Ozil isn’t the worlds greatest presser but he has other qualities we know all about, will be interesting to see how and if he is used as the season goes on and we hopefully progress in Europe where he will be invaluable.
Despite recent frustrations, don’t think we will really see what Emery is truly about for another year or so, assuming he survives that long, Josh Kroenkes recent interview suggests he will, and some.
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Interestingly, Klopp said later on that he was not aware throughout match that the goal was offside- and heavily implied he would not have reacted towards officials as he did if he had known this.
I find it somewhere between extremely doubtful and implausible that he wouldn’t have found out no later than half time it was off. The crowd were reacting in a big way to that linesman in the first half, coaching staff will have access to the footage.
Pretty sure what actually happened is he knew soon afterwards, had it in his mind that it could affect the officiating in West Ham’s favour, with some justification as far as his theory goes, and maybe even in the play that unfolded (though not in any huge way)…and most importantly was tense and stressed on the touchline.
Couldn’t contain himself, then later realised what a bad look it was for him, especially as they were nearly gifted winner by another terrible call; and then tried some damage control with the lie of not knowing about the offside goal throughout.
“I heard our goal was offside, I’m pretty sure the ref knew that,” Klopp told BBC Sport after the 1-1 draw.
“In 50-50 situations it was always a free-kick for the other team, which was hard and did not make life easy.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, the German added: “As a human being, if I know I have made a big mistake in the first half, I don’t want to open the gap any more.
“Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn’t during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside.”
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Mandy
I am not sure about UEs set up with Spanish teams he managed but he has not been able to play Arsenal with the attacking flair we are fond of watching.
Even a layman in sports knows that attack is the best form of defence how can one defend Emery to play defensive football even against lower ranked teams.
We used to win by s minimum of 2 goals margin against lower club usualy during Wenger days by prioritizing attack over defence.
I see no reason to defend UE .
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No rosicky I can’t agree when you say you have no reason to defend the AFC manager.
Although his decisions have been baffling since the Liverpool home game, which was some time ago now.
However I could agree with you that Pellegrini would’ve been a better manager for this current AFC squad.
Young Pep might match or better the admirable MP’s record at city if he is lucky this season. The manager who signed Cazorla and Monreal for Malaga would do for me.
Some people mentioned Poch as a replacement for AW last season. On these pages lest they forget. Yet his record compared to MP is worthless.
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< Villarreal and Malaga etc.
Truth is West Ham appear to have the better football manager whose teams have consistently played some of the best football in Europe over two decades. This is not an opinion!
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< and those West Ham fans, supporters and lovers who value their club's identity style and reputation (values?) must be over the moon with their coach/manager.
No need to explain why!
He ticked all the boxes and was an ideal candidate but the board probably felt they had to go for someone who looked "different".
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Rosicky, can only agree, attack is the best form of defence, unless you are in the Italian league a few years ago. And, I suspect the root of Wengers problems at the end, and Emerys problems now were/are partly due to not having a player like Cazorla to assist the attack, and make most opponents, except the very elite, too scared to spend too much time thinking about attacking us.
Wenger might be an attacking manager, but it looked to me like he had similar problems to what Emery is experiencing in his last two years, with the exception of that great day at Wembley. His teams latter days defending was generally pretty substandard compared to rivals, and he dropped points away to lesser lights with a pretty poor record away to the better teams, not much change I can see as yet. Our relative lack of funding, the fact that others have caught up, especially on the scouting front makes it difficult to be an Arsenal manager and compete with the elite, Svens replacement will have his work cut out if reports on our summer spend are really correct.
I suspect Emery pretty much wants the bulk of a new team, but I have no idea how he will get that.
I have a few reservations about Emery, some of the obvious , and personally, wish he would play some of the kids a bit more, but I am sure he has his reasons, and maybe he just wants them more ready.
I might moan, sometimes get frustrated by results, performances and patterns of play, selections, but at the end of the day, when it comes to individuals, I will always defend those who wear the shirt, and coach them, unless they give very good reason not too, or have a touch of Judas about them.
I continue to believe Emery will ultimately do a good job in the context of the hand he has been dealt. He is too new, has too many injuries, funding issues, unknowns and imponderables to really judge him at the moment
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<< and I bet Klopp is wishing he had a Goetze, Coutinho or wait what some kind of Ozil available amidst his current squad.
Ahead of a Lallana hehe?
No debate there!
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Klaus Toppmöller.
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It’s a sorry state of affairs for me that I feel the urge to point out the failings of the current Arsenal manager.
Ok. So let’s focus on some positives. Our position in the league affords us the chance to make top 4 IF we can fix our away record (It’s bad this season too)
Guendouzi and Torreira are players I like very much and should be future midfield stars.
Lacazette has been great, not just in his finishing or overall play, but also his attitude. He even turned boos for Emery into cheers when he was being subbed off. I love that guy.
Europa League. It will depend on future draws but after making the semi final last season, and with Emery’s experience in the competition, we stand a chance of winning it. Hope we do.
What else?
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Fins
I don’t know why are you stopping me to question UE for damaging the identity of the clubs trademark Wengerball.
Anyway everybody has the right to express his opinion.
Re the sucessor of AWinitially I thought that UE would be a good choice but with the passage of the season I have my doubts primarily on the discarding of Wengerball and secondly on benching of Ozil & Ramsey.
Personally I would agree to you to have Pelligrini to take the great mans seat after retirement.
Though the Wobs liking was surely Pep JM & Ancelotti in that order.
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Carrying on from Klopp. Just read what he said. He actually accused the ref of strange decisions against Liverpool in the second half BECAUSE Liverpool had scored an offside goal in the first. Whatever happy juice they have over in Liverpool clearly is strong stuff. Origi’s offside chance doesn’t figure.
I also saw a stat that Liverpool have scored 11 offside goals and been awarded 9 penalties this season. That sounds very much like the PL doing their best to gift them the league title.
Klopp might be under more pressure, from that doyen of business ethics John Henry, if he can’t help fulfill the bargain struck between him and Scudamore & co. PGMob bosses don’t take failure lightly.
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George has been very eloquent over at UFV: http://uniteforvar.com/?p=1685
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A direct link to the podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/user/10802980/ufv-podcast-2-3-19
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Sorry Rich don’t mean to stop you saying anything.
On the creativity discussion I saw a decent amount of creativity in this squad when players are fit as we saw with the league form towards the end of last season when the team tonked four or five past a number of lower league opposition before resting up in the second halves for the latter rounds of the EL.
Helped that Monreal was playing LB and AW dropped the left sided midfielder with 50% pass completion stats (last season and this) who was clearly never an AW signing.
Hunter was absolutely correct on how transfers were conducted in those last two seasons, if the arguments the old gaffer hinted at were not enough evidence for people then the passing stats themselves are there for all to see!
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Mandy
I don’t know how you see the game.I think AW trademark football beside pleasing on the eyes was a sucess as we outscored the opponent and won the game. Apart from the last season we always took the field with confidence of outscoring the opponent and we were quite successful despite not prioritizing defence.
Pls recall our stats for the season 2014/15 & 2015/16. We have a good number of clean sheets with Sczesney and Cech winning the golden gloves.
Our attacking trio of Ozil Alexis Giroud backed up by the little magician Santi were the first line of defence.
Cech Bellerin Kos Monreal Arteta Ramsey Oxlade completing the luneup was surely a title winning squad.
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< sorry Rosicky! Not Rich hehe.
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Per Mertesacker * as well
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Héctor Bellerín, Rob Holding & Danny Welbeck In the Europa League squad?
Makes perfect sense to fob off a British footballer of Ramsey’s quality eh?
“Shambles” was the word I believe the Experts and their friends in the media & Sports Communications industry used as a tool to attack the club last season.
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< there were a couple of offsides in the 6-3 (I think) defeat at City in their favour.
The only contest with MP's City where there was a gulf in the result (but not the play).
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Rosicky
I was as usual vague above:
It’s not just the new coach who wasn’t the most suitable or admirable from those who were available (or could speak the old English!), but some as in some but not all of the signings of late. Such as the left sided midfielder supposed left back who under two different coaches has racked up the most appalling passing stats. You can’t play a passing game when you have players who can’t pass the football.
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Shard
The two CMs allegedly signed by the scout who just have his notice (it’s a mess!) are both young and very promising.
Could do with some creative colleagues in midfield and nearby, hopefully they’re not going to be asked to punt and wait on Nelson and Rowe, with Iwobi also needing more time etc.
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Holding, Welbeck and Bellerin make up the homegrown number in the squad so have to be included as odd as that may seem. Mavropanos doesn’t yet count as howngrown yet so including Suarez pushes him out.
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As ever a reasonable and objective analysis from our friend @ArsenalColumn,
he’s softer now then a month ago, as I have been, my own journey over the last month as the club’s best footballer recovered fitness has gone the other way.
https://mobile.twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1092740115716362241
As a football fan I genuinely hope AC is wrong and contrary to observations the coach isn’t using a player that racked up 50% passing stats both last season (with a different coach) for his attacking rhythm as that would be effing mental (the stats are not restricted for cut backs across the box but all passes!!)
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< both last season and this
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Hah that was the wrong link, somehow!
https://mobile.twitter.com/ArsenalColumn/status/1092439705935736834
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ian you will find mavropanos will never be, under current rules, classed as homegrown for us in Europe.
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Fins
I think..(or more accurately, I think I think) that this whole Ozil and Ramsey mess is related to the mess upstairs.
So Emery came in (reportedly backed by Raul, though finally endorsed by the other two) knowing the commitments we had to good football, to youth, to Ozil and our desire to keep Ramsey. He names them among his captains.
Now it’ll need me to correlate some of the dates, but it was known for a while that Gazidis would leave. And then Emery doesn’t play the two. Ramsey gets his contract rescinded, Ozil gets benched, and we suddenly enter this austerity period. (Bizarrely, to wide applause)
The club hadn’t planned on Raul being in charge. Maybe he won Kroenkes support by saying he’d get us the CL while cutting our costs and this prompted the change.
Sven was building on the side that Wenger had built and it was all to a plan. I can only imagine he wasn’t too happy at that being thrown away, and he decided to leave.
Also, if I were Emery in such a situation I’d demand more freedom to play my own style, and have more of my own players. Specifically, more of HIS players who are not invested in Wengerball nor have ties to Ozil, but to him, which might explain the rumours we had around Nzonzi, Banega and Suarez, and now, Rabiot. It might also explain the link with Monchi. Raul and Emery get a guy they have a relationship with and the board get a guy who’s got experience of buying cheap and selling high. It all depends on making the CL I would think. Without it I don’t know how free a hand Raul gets, especially since we’ve lost value on Ramsey and Ozil.
All speculation and ill thought out but still there it is.
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I think I like my theory. This would also explain why we could only go for loan deals in January minus even the obligation to buy. We’ve wrecked value in Ramsey and Ozil. I wouldn’t think the board backs the people who did that further until they prove they have the ability to deliver what they promised.
I don’t think that necessarily means they’ll be gone if we don’t make the CL, but it would affect how things move forward.
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Thanks Shard, you echo much of my own thought too. More articulately and with better grammar and spelling heh!
Continuity in sport is what it’s all about and the conflicts between the different interests that exist in modern sport is some of what writers were reflecting in works like The Damned United.
I spent years on these pages laughing at the idiot that spent big money on the likes of Paulinho. And rightfully so! The quotes: are available hehe! Now someone with that record is at the club letting Ramsey go for free etc.
Yikes!
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If you are correct Shard, think those who own the club maybe need to get a grip on any -potential-empires and ivory towers being built below them. The last thing we need is a coup from within! The Armada is coming! Not saying Monchi Raul Emery won’t work, after all, emery and Monchi has worked before, but I thought they were planning to spread responsibilities more widely as opposed to becoming depending on one man, no matter how great he has been for the club?
With our finances, we need to be developing youth , I thought that was one of the things Sven supposedly stood for, but I am not sure if Raul has a record in, though Monchi May be a different matter. I personally would put Overmars in, just so no cliques!
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