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Reasons To Be Cheerful

 

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Ok, lest you lot think this has to do with the rumoured imminent exciting transfer of Pepe, I’d have you know I started writing this 2 days before that news broke. (Hail Ornstein!) The new season is almost upon us. How has time flown by? I wasn’t even having fun. On the contrary I was annoyed. I did start to look for things to be happy about though. Something to look forward to.

So here’s some things I came up with, in no particular order.

Goalkeepers – Happy that Leno is No. 1 and Martinez gets a real chance at the first team. He’s been here since he was 16, so I’m looking forward to seeing him play for the first team, even if it’s only in the cups.

Right Backs – The club sent Osei-Tutu on loan and doesn’t look like we’ll be signing another right back. This maybe indicates we believe in his talent. In the meantime, Maitland-Niles gets to be back up RB for another season, and it also means that Carl Jenkinson gets to stay for a little while longer. Carl loves Arsenal, and I love Carl. I also think it’s unfortunate and unfair how he’s mocked. I like having him around, and so this counts as a positive for me.

Promotions – The club officially promoted 4 youngsters to the first team. Congratulations to Joe Willock, Emil Smith-Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah. All of them, except Nelson who was on loan, maybe deserved more playing time last season, but with this promotion hopefully will get their chances. We might even go back to playing youth in the League Cup, which is always fun.

Kit – What a beauty! Great marketing campaign, awesome away kit too. Not skin tight fit anymore, which if you ask me makes this a whole lot cooler. Third kit yet to be revealed along with maybe Nicolas Pepe? Which brings us to

Kitty – As in transfer kitty. Josh Kroenke appeared in an interview after Raul had done the same a few months prior. This gave me hope that we’ll make some good transfers. But this is beyond expectations. Maybe we are finally starting to make use of the cash reserves we’ve built up over the years? Adding Saliba made sense to me, even if he spends next season on loan in France. Martinelli looks exciting and hopefully can be a star. Ceballos on loan is a little iffy, but also potentially very good. Tierney is still rumoured, but it seems there is something to it. And then there’s Pepe. That got me excited.

Playing style – But, transfers were not my biggest concern this summer. It was about having a set identity and making good use of the squad. The early signs are good (not great, but we’re trying to be positive) Ozil seems back into the fold, fully rehabilitated both in the club’s PR output and the coach’s thinking. We seem to have a little more about us than just cutbacks, and more additions to the squad ought to help. May not be fully convinced, but there’s something there to look forward to.

Backroom changes – We shall ignore the one who shall not be named. But adding Freddie and creating a ‘transition team’ that he heads, was a major positive signal for me. It at least showed the club were serious in upholding some of what was promised last season, but not delivered. Ie youth development. This should promote the boot room culture of Arsenal. The spirit of Arsenal lives. Bringing Edu back adds to this. He seems to ‘get’ Arsenal. Not something that we’d always say about those in charge. He clearly wants to do well. Hopefully he can be both good at his job, and remember the Arsenal values we want to uphold. He did say that setting a style of play is important, so that gives me hope. There are also reports that Per Mertesacker is increasingly influential behind the scenes. Having the BFG involved can only be a good thing.

Today’s the first pre-season game at home. Another opportunity to see if there’s an identity being built. Maybe we’ll even announce a transfer or two to get us more excited? Who knows. But for the first time in a long time, I am looking forward to the season ahead, hoping we get to see the return of The Arsenal.

@ShardGooner

35 comments on “Reasons To Be Cheerful

  1. Try telling ur mate Blackburn George to grt the positivity bug. He has become an embarrassment

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  2. Lol. So much for positivity.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. What a great post and let’s hope that the players can deliver the goods when it matters.

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  4. Blackburn George dare not show his face on here, the cunt.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. Thanks Shard. It is interesting to me how far the club is willing to go to get back to the champions league and to keep fans on-side. Long-held traditions are being thrown overboard. Bottomline, however is Emery is being given massive support as the Pepe transfer will smash the existing record. https://uncensoredarsenal.com/index.php/nicholas-pepe-emirates-cup-is-no-coincidence/

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  6. He isnt an embarrassment at all. George holds more than one idea/emotional feeling in his mind at a time. Last season and its run in and final left one mother of a hangover.
    Show me the unconditionally loving Arsenal fan.

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  7. Once again COYG.

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  8. well shard until Pepe has officially signed I dare not get excited, as a deal is not done till its done. Really hope we get him and Tierney signed double quick.

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  9. Sami Khedira, who has been linked to Arsenal recently, is at the Emirates today, but may just be a guest of Mesut Ozil’s as they are good friends

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  10. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EAjmB8hXYAEEXiu?format=jpg&name=900×900

    Arsenal Women
    @ArsenalWFC
    ·
    1h
    Here’s our bench for today’s game – with kick-off taking place at 12.30pm (UK time)
    👊

    SUBS: Peyraud-Magnin, Arnth, Mitchell, Filis, Grant, Flores

    Goal for @FCBFrauen
    . Leupolz opens the scoring with a powerful header into the top left corner…

    #AWFC 0-1 #BAY | (24) #EmiratesCup

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  11. I think that Flores who is a sub for our Women today is the older sister of the lad in our academy we bought end of last season from Ipswich, there is also a younger sister in our womens academy too

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  12. Thanks Shard

    Aubamayang’s goalscoring was the big positive for me from last season and I hope I’ll be enjoying some more of his goals in the season to come!

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  13. half time and its 1-0 to the Arsenal, with Aubameyang getting the goal. We missed a few other good chances, Willock and sub Nelson have had lively moments.
    Lacazette went off injured

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  14. Not very clever defending down the right from Arsenal allows Depay to play in a crisp cross to his striker Dembele and he makes sure he finds the back of the net little chance for Leno there in my opinion, all after a flurry of good chances for Nketiah at the other end, some of them of his own making.

    AMN recovers to make an important challenge. Mikitaryean also dozy on the goal looks knackered, struggling to make long passes as the pre season takes it toll.
    Off he comes in a triple sub including the new loan signing from Madrid. Mustafi’s name heckled by the home crowd as he comes on for Chambers. The new Brazilian kid also makes a home debut.

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  15. Goal for the Brazilian kid ruled out for offside.

    Second goal for Dembele & Lyon 1-2. Mustafi claiming offside as the hobbling AMN had come over to try and tackle.

    Belatedly the injured AMN comes off for Jenko.

    I’d like to see The Corporal given a few games at RB in a four, even Mustafi at RB ahead of AMN. And y’all know how much I like AMN I just think those two are better RBs. IMO!

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  16. Ohhh Aubamayang hits the post with an effort after beating, curling up and over past a desperate keeper who’d rushed out of his area close down to the acute angle.

    Great effort.

    Yep. Aubamayang is still the positive.

    The new no.8 looks like a no.8.
    Competition for Willock heh. But in all seriousness the rookie is probably better prepared to start a PL game at this specific moment at the start of the season. Fitness etc.

    Hopefully the coach will be allowed to play him as this new loanee is not in dispute with Big Boss upstairs, as I guess he was signed by the Big Boss.

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  17. neither Kolasinac nor Ozil used today.

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  18. Mustafi got booed when his name was announced. Our fans are awful.

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  19. Our only hope this season is going all in on the attack. We lack any kind of defensive structure despite a year of a superior coach.

    Hey, I said there’s hope.

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  20. Pretty sad to read about the fans booing Mustafi. At a dumb-assed pre- season kick around! Tony Attwood was right : the anti -Arsenal Arsenal.

    Being bullied is really good for you, it puts your confidence sky high and makes you feel a worthy human that can grow and reach new heights of potentiality. You go home and feel good and want to get up early and do it all again having had a great nights sleep and good relations with your family and friends. Life always then gets better and better.

    Being booed is what any Arsenal player deserves for not being ex Arsenal player Paul Bunyan, a mysterious character in the GG years who scored 52,000 goals was 20ft high, fucked like Rocco Seffredi, sang like Frank Sinatra, was the worlds best defender, was hard as nails, ate raw flesh for breakfast had a Phd in Quantum mechanics, went to Saturn in a pea green boat, beat Kasparov at chess, won more Oscars than Disney, never ate garlic (or any of that foreign muck)except in vindaloos which was his mid day snack,played the Rach 3 better than Horovitz, smoked 90 cigs a day, drank two barrels of beer and 25 bottles of vodka blue Smirnoff before training, had the biggest mullet ever that Rapunzel was jealous of, climbed Everest without oxygen in a vest and shorts ( high-riding 80s shorts), won the tour de France not holding on to the handle bars whilst shouting “look Mum, no hands!”, swam the pacific- underwater mind,then saved the world. Yep all in them GG days.At least thats what they tell me at Le Git.

    Anyone who says anything against this is soft, a Wengerite a Remoaner and the kind of words homosexuals were called in ITV sitcoms in the 1970s.

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  21. As expected, questions surrounding potential signings were a common theme in Unai Emery’s post-Emirates Cup press conference.

    Here’s our head coach answered them:

    on Nicolas Pepe and if he is close to signing…
    We are working, the club, and also thinking about how we can improve. There are different players on the table with the possibility that we can achieve their signature. Pepe is a very good player and also we are thinking only of players who can really, really improve this squad and also give us some different conditions to improve. The same, we are working for the last few weeks and before starting the season in the first match in Newcastle, our aim is to get the best team with the best players in our squad.

    on if Arsenal should buy more defenders instead of attacking players…
    We are deciding how we can improve. At the beginning we were thinking to do one player to achieve the possibility to sign, but only if we can really, really improve this position. It’s one centre back, one midfielder and one winger and we are going to [try] to do that. We are thinking the same. I want a team that is better than last year, so the players can achieve a lot being with us this season. Also we have a very good team. Only the players that can improve and help the squad [will be brought in].

    Copyright 2019 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.

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  22. having seen the winning goal again, it was offside, yet that is not stopping idiot fans blaming Mustafi for putting his hand up calling for offside.

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  23. I’m yet to get excited for the new season despite the last minute transfer supermarket sweep, and the main reason is other Arsenal fans selective support of our players. I’m really not looking forward to another season of the ‘fans’ choosing a scapegoat for their own inadequacies. It’s really beginning to impact negatively on my enjoyment of the game.

    Liked by 3 people

  24. reports in Greece say Mavropanos will be sent on loan this season as Emery does not think he is ready for BPL action, a couple of teams in Greece keen to take him for the season.

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  25. well passenal it really has gone too far now with their hounding of Mustafi, to actually boo when his name is announced is beyond stupid. We care do you my arse, the fact that as far as I can see, only one of the bloggers or big, sorry influential, twitter accounts who are the leaders of the we care bullshit, have so far spoken out against it, says all you need to know about these self indulgent cunts.

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  26. Good post passenal. It’s a big downer for me any time I dwell on stuff like booing mustafi.
    Not like I articulate thoughts like this in my mind, but maybe part of that downer is knowing that in the event of any good times the sort of shitbags who behave like that get to be happy in their fashion.
    There’s just no avoiding the knowledge, I guess, that among both the matching fans and the wider fanbase there are some real lousy people. Nothing we do on or off the pitch can change that.
    I figure it’s always been true- i.e you can’t have a population of 5,000 people without some twats (maybe you can’t have a 100 people without!)- but the internet age has laid it all bare, as well as, no doubt, influencing a lot of real life, non internet crap.

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  27. I reckon that goal was just off by the way. first I was confident it was, then less so- bodies at angles and whatnot- but then used cut of grass as an aid, and their attacker in centre definitely looked closer to line of it than our last man defender (Monreal I think) on left.

    Suppose gotta laugh a little at pgmol lads staying true to form even in pre-season, in our own cup. Not first time either. Didn’t get a blatant pen couple years back when a keeper wiped out our attacker (akpom, I think)

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  28. On Pepe, hard as it is not to believe it, given the various ‘announcements’, no way am I considering it a done thing yet.
    If it isn’t, club will be fretting a lot at minute. If it was them who instructed Ornstein, they surely had/have to believe it is a sure thing, given how bad the reaction will be if it doesn’t happen.
    Distrustful git I am though, I don’t have 100% faith in old Orny or anyone else on transfers. Would be a heck of a stroke to pull from him if, for instance, he doesn’t have such strong connections any more and just wanted to fuck with club a little.
    On reflection, that sounds far-fetched. Still though. I’m 70:30, tops, on it happening. My impression is that until contracts signed things can fall through. If they’re not, and club leaked it about deal accepted, that’s dumb in my book.

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  29. Mohamed Elneny ‘is shocked after dead body is found on the patio of his Egyptian home’

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  30. Passenal, after the debacle at the start of season supporters event AISA invited members to comment on it. I wrote back saying exactly what you’ve just said about not being able to enjoy any ARSENAL games or functions because of the toxic fans who just love to hate.
    The biggest problem at the moment are those negative fans however because they are like a virus eating through the club it’s difficult to know how to cut them out.

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  31. Thing is (what I was trying to get at earlier) is the horrible judgment of Mustafi. Do you recall at the end of last season he was really being called out yet the stats proved otherwise? My point about the GG s years was that it wasnt always a great defence (at the end it was fantastic) but in some peoples minds things get Bunyanised. Who can tell how one player would be in another epoch? How would defenders and attackers from the 30s deal with the game today? Would the Invincibles be invincible?
    When Mustafi first came he was rock solid. The bloke needs a bit of nurturing and support.
    Only if the big influencers start with that line can it possibly change? Im sure an Arsenal player who hasnt actually done anything specifically wrong to the club deserves to be booed. Looking in the world theres some heavy shite going on that needs booing. Especially not in an Emirates cup game. Anyway the other two were equally at fault for the goal yesterday. But thats football, and thats how goals are made, thats why we watch the game, because its not a sure thing.
    My q is what can really come out of toxic hate? Did the Invincibles come out of toxic hate?

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  32. So another season on the horizon. Can we have, a sniff at top4. I am not very much hopeful. I wasn’t hopeful last year as well but it was within reach. But as Shotta said top4 is, decided by the pigmob and is, not in the natural scheme of things. As everyone here believes if Wenger was here we would have surely finished top4 last year. But UEs UNARSENAL playing style lost us points.Will we see the Arsenal of old?With Freddie in the ranks i have a,little hope if he can convinve UE to play like Wengers Arsenal than maybe we can atleast look forward to matchayds with some fervour. But the Aura of Wenger at the touchdown will be missed immensely for sure.

    And folks how are the Wobs and the idiots of AFTV Arseblog & Legroan are going? Did they got there Arsenal back?
    Have they found their manager and the owner who could spend 500 million per year to sign the Messi’s of the world to win CL and PL? Did they find their Mouriniho or Klopp or Pep they idolize to take us to the next level?

    Shame on them for destroying the club by dividing the fanbase and making us look worse on and off the pitch and jeopardise the clubs identity as a whole.

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