A few years ago one of the greatest contributors to this site, Stu Black, wrote a lyrical piece about the end of the season and the onset of summer. ‘Goals dismantled on recreation parks, bare pitches turned fallow, thoughts turning to days of ease.’ His message was clear: time marches on, seasons come and go and the rhythms of the year lie just under all we do. If players need a break to allow spent bodies and minds to recover, then so too do football fans. And for me, never more so than the end of what is now thankfully last season, a season that initially promised much, but ended up under-delivering.
There were some exciting moments, of course, but also times of frustration, disappointment and downright bewilderment. The first year after Wenger was always going to be a difficult one, for players and fans alike: some couldn’t wait to usher in the new, some couldn’t imagine life could ever be as good again. It must have been hard indeed for Emery to impose himself on a dressing room full of senior players who had learnt to play the Arsenal way, but hard also for players learning to dance to a different tune. The answer to begin with seemed to lie in hard work: more training, more running, more pressing, more tactics. And up until Christmas, that approach seemed to be working in terms of results, even if the strong suspicion lingered that at times we were unsustainably lucky. And so it proved, the turning point the away trip to Southampton where old familiar weaknesses resurfaced. And that was pretty much that, for despite the promise of an Aaron Ramsey-led revival in January and February, that too fell away, and the final stages of the season were dire. I felt that the players by then were exhausted (all that early pressing maybe), bewildered (by constant tactical tweaking) and disheartened (as the goals dried up). It was pretty dismal, and by the time the league season finished I had had enough. Unfortunately, so too had the players, failing to turn up for the second half of the Europa Final, having squandered reasonable chances to put the game to bed in the first half.
And so I turned my attention to all the other things: family, dog, work, reading, cricket, netball, holidays. And I did wonder whether football (and The Arsenal) would come back into focus, and all the more so when I realised that the Transfer window was open and that I had never heard of the players I was told we had to buy, apart from Zaha, who was always going to be too good to be true (and what would be the point of signing a suspected diver when we don’t get penalties anyway?).
And I’m still not entirely sure to be honest, but fortunately I (or was it Stan, or Josh) was asked whether I cared, because apparently lots of people who have behaved quite despicably in denigrating the club, have now decided that, after all, they do care. And perhaps they do, in their own way: perhaps they do want to get whatever version of their Arsenal they hold most dear back; perhaps they do want to win all the trophies; perhaps they do want the shiniest new players to win them bragging rights once more. Perhaps they even want to cement their positions as the most important of all the fans, but goodness me, what a strange route to fame and fortune that is. And I guess that that is fine, and it is not for me to judge, as we all have our different reasons for doing anything, let alone for supporting a club whose fortunes we absolutely cannot influence.
But I realise that I do care. That I do want it to be the start of the season again (though not quite yet), that I do want to catch the train and then the tube to Holloway Road. That I will want it to be November with the smell of bonfires and burgers. That I will want to have my heroes. That I do want us to be the greatest team the world has ever seen and that I will be Arsenal ‘til I die. In short, that I will allow myself the temporary madness of belief and hope and love, with all the heartache and the joy that comes along with oohtobeingagooner.
Now, what about those signings then? After all, we’ve got a League to win.
Tim Head
@foreverheady
Positively Arsenal 
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for a new signing to be ready for the opening game of the season how long would he need to be here, how many Arsenal preseason games would he need to have taken part in
for me they would need to taking part in the Emirates Cup game v Lyon which is on this coming Sunday, the 28th, and certainly no latter than the Angers game on Wednesday 31st
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Ed
Very general rule of thumb is you need to do full pre-season in order to be in tip top shape. Then separate issue of new players integrating into squad. On that I don’t know, but surely longer the better and a week or two isn’t enough.
It would need to be in next couple of days to stand much chance of a player being ready-ish to go from off.
I’m presuming Guendo and Torreria join back with squad soon after back from America, Iwobi won’t start training till week before season starts. Noticed City had lad who went further in u21 Euro’s already playing for them a few days ago. Don’t really get how holiday can be cut short like that and happy with us to do right thing.
Adds up to Willock having very good chance of starting first game.
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Ed
Thought about something other day with Ainsley. Many convinced midfield his best position and he could end up playing there soon.
Agree with first bit, or at least think skillset suited to it and would like to see him play some games there; but if it was likely in near future, wouldn’t we have tried him out there in pre-season, what with one senior mid having left and three been unavailable as result of international duty?
Maybe it’s common sense, and no point shifting him while still needed for right back duty, but I think if there were any plans at minute to move him there it would have made sense to give him a half or something in that position.
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yeah Rich I’ve had same notion about AMN, I would have expected to see him in midfield preseason if Emery seen him as viable option there, I don’t think Emery does.
as for cutting holiday short, seen somewhere that if the players had time off before the international competition it counts towards the 3 weeks off, so if he had say 10 days off between end of his domestic season and joining up with international squad then he would only have to get 11 days off afterwards
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Ah, that’d make sense with holiday thing Ed.
I’d guess with Guendoouzi and Torreira both we might actually be extra keen on making sure they get good rest, even extra. Torreira tired as season went and has done- season, WC, season in new country, Copa America; and Guendouzi’s a young lad who played a lot and, I think, double or more what he has previously in a season.
You as bad as me by the way in checking for the old transfer news each day?
Pretty soon I’ll have that feeling I did in the Cech summer when I was sure things had to happen even until last week or so, and then…oh oh.
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well Rich after all Josh and Emery said last week I can’t see us not signing 3 or 4 players, and I would expect we will have one or two of them to at least introduce to the crowd at the Emirates cup on Sunday
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David Ornstein
Verified account @bbcsport_david
20m20 minutes ago
Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign Real Madrid and Spain U21 midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan for 2019-20 campaign. With William Saliba also set to complete move from Saint Etienne before returning there on loan next season, big week for #AFC in transfer market #RMFC #ASSE
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I’m excited about Ceballos. Found some of his stuff fantastic to watch at this year’s u21 Euros and think he may have been player of tournament at the last one.
Only issues for me playing wise are adaption, the amount he’ll be kicked with us, and that with those Spanish u21 sides there’s a lot of link play with other highly creative players.
Think Ozil’s three best linkups to date have been with Alexis, Ramsey and, for a particular cross he can no longer play, Giroud. Fingers crossed Ceballos will be someone he links well with.
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yeah Rich, if Emery picks him with Ozil and not instead of, then we might see the best of Mesut again, as MO needs other creative players to bring the best out of him, he has missed Cazorla and Rosicky big time in the last two years.
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just seen a short clip of a fan asking Edu if we are signing Everton Soares, and Edu says “we’ll see, we’ll see”, the lad kept asking and Edu said “if you stop filming I will tell you”
make of that what you will.
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correction, Edu said “let’s see, let’s see”
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Reckon Ozil has missed Alexis as well Eduardo
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I think you are right, Mandy. If you have two world-class players in a team it is hard to double mark them both.
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Thanks btw for all the kind comments re the post. I’m at the start of a slightly surreal experience, spending two weeks teaching EAL in China. Ive been here for three days now and was delighted to find that I can still access this haven of common sense and rationality. Lessons are done for the day now, so I might try to access some videos of these players we are or are not signing or borrowing. It will be good to see what all the fuss is about!
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I hope you are teaching them ARSENAL are by far the greatest team the world has ever seen
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so Saliba and Ceballos had their Arsenal medicals today
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https://pbs.twimg.com/ad_img/1153788368502706176/d3SE2th-?format=jpg&name=orig
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Emery said yesterday that our team to face Real Madrid tonight would be along the lines of the team that would face Newcastle in our BPL opener
Martinez
Maitland-Niles Chambers Sokratis Kolasinac
Xhaka Willock
Mkhitaryan Ozil Aubameyang
Lacazette
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a late change to our line-up too – with Jenkinson in for Maitland-Niles
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1-0 to the Arsenal, Lacazette scores it, in off both posts
Real down to 10 men as Nacho who had already been booked for a foul on Kolasinac was the one to handball for the penalty and he had to be sent off
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2-0 to the Arsenal, Aubameyang with the goal, Lacca with a nice little flick on and PEA runs on to it, rounds the keeper and despite Ramos on the line his shot goes in
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sokratis as he is inclined to do, gets a yellow, then as he is inclined to do he gets a second one, and he is off, its 10 v 10 40 minutes in
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HT Arsenal 2-0 Real Madrid
Lacazette and Aubameyang with our goals, both teams down to 10, Sokratis with two yellows within a minute or so, silly stuff from him, needless like a lot of his bookings last season.
we have been very much on top, well until we went down to 10, real hit the post right at the end.
Ozil, Lacca and Pea doing well in attack. Chambers solid, as has Jenkinson.
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Bale on for Real, Monreal on for Arsenal
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xhaka down with an ankle injury, seems to be in a lot of pain
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Real hit the post again
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real score, but it seemed to me that the ball was kicked out of Martinesz’s hands
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we had invited pressure on ourselves by sitting back, and we have paid for it
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laughably its now 2-2, gone from totally in control to panic stations, sokratis with his needless red card has really put us in the mire, well that and us inviting pressure on ourselves by sitting back.
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martinez with good save to deny bale getting a second to give Real the lead
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PEA almost in after a great one touch move by our attacking players
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Nketiah on for Lacazette
Burton on for Mkhitaryan
Saka on for Ozil
Nelson on for Aubameyang
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Bale clears a chambers shot off the line
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our subs have given us some life again in attack
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Nketiah with a great chance but fails to take it
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now Nketiah heads over the top
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4 minutes of stoppage time to get a winner, and stop it going to penalties
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FT: 2-2, its going to penalties
we really should have won this, totally dominated the first half, then invited pressure on ourselves by sitting deep and it went 2-2, then our subs added life to our attack and Nketiah should have scored at least one of his two big chances. Disappointed by Nelson, he just did not get to the pace of the game, always seemed to want a split second more than there was. Saka and Nketiah caused lots of problems to the Real defense
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Penalty shoot out
Nelson scored but he has to retake it and he puts it the other side and in
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Bale penalty easily saved by Martinez, it was a poor penalty
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xhaka with an awful penalty straight at the keeper, awful
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isco with fine penalty just beat martinez
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Saka scores
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varane scores high down the middle
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monreal hits the post with the keeper gone the wrong way, we need a save now from Martinez
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fuck, Martinez almost had it, Real lead 3-2 with one each left
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Burton fires high over the bar,
we really threw this away
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odd that Nketiah did not take a penalty, he has often taken them for the youth teams
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Plenty to ponder. Xhaka doing full game when he is only senior cm at present seems weird.
Monreal instead of Mustafi pretty interesting, too, especially as i think Emery said other day Monreal suited to centre back when playing in three but not two, unless i dreamed it.
Ains- let’s hope it’s nowt serious.
Ceballos- lets hope is 100% done because Asensio may well have done his cruciate
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