Author Archives: keenosafc

Fake news filling the void of the international break

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This international break seems to have gone on forever. They always do. There really has not been much going on, so there has been little to write about.

Some have filled the void by spreading fake news about Arsene Wenger in talks to return to Arsenal. How a 15-year-old from India who runs one of those Twitter accounts that copy and pastes News Now headlines has inside knowledge on Arsenal I will never know.

Fact is the account in question does not have inside knowledge on Arsenal, and is merely making stuff up for RTs during the dull international break.

There has been plenty to fill the time during the break. Mainly cricket and F1. Add in Peaky Blinders and Mindhunter and there has been enough to keep myself occupied. Even used the free time to de weed my driveway.

There has been some Arsenal-related stuff going on over the last week.

We had Eddie Nketiah and Riess Nelson performing well for England U21s. Both are clearly too good for that level. But probably not quite good enough to play regular Premier League football.

Eddie has done well on loan at Leeds and, worst case scenario, Arsenal should be able to get a fee north of ยฃ20million next summer if they decide to cash in.

He is a pure finisher and needs to work on his link up play. Around the world, the top strikers are no longer just goal scorers. The likes of Sergio Aguero, Firminho, Lionel Messi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also get involved in the build up play. Eddie needs to add that to his game.

On the worlds best strikers, FIFA announced their โ€œBestโ€ list last week. Auabameyang failed to make the list. It was not a surprise as he failed to win anything. However when you consider only 4 of the players outscored him on the list, you start to fill these things are a waste of time.

The fact that Mauricio Pochettino was named alongside Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola as one of the best 3 managers last season sums it up. His Spurs side nearly lost as many games as they won.

Other stuff going on includes Grant Xhaka and paternity leave.

It is a story that has been blown out of proportion as people look to fill the international void.

His baby is due mid-October during the international break.

Xhaka’s Swiss team-mate Haris Seferovic has taken the same steps this week, leaving the squad early after becoming a father.

And Xhaka said: “There are more special things in life than football. For example, when you become a father.

“With Haris it was agreed that he gives everything against Ireland and then travels home.

“And with me, it would probably fall on that time when we play.”

He is not taking time away from Arsenal, but taking time away from the Swiss national team. There really is not much to complain about.

Tonight France play Andorra and it should see Matteo Guendouzi make his debut.

Fair play to the lad.

18 months ago he was playing in the French League 2, and now he is an Arsenal 1st team regular and about to play for his country. He has kicked on from last season and as long as he continues to progress, he could make it to the very top.

Real football returns at the weekend but before then we have more cricket!

Keenos

Arsenal build youngest squad in Premier League

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Last season much was written about the age of Arsenal’s squad.

At 26-years and 5-months, Arsenal had the 7th oldest squad in the Premier League and the oldest squad in the top 6.

Over the summer, Raul Sanllehi oversaw a huge turnover of players, with the main aim being to reduce the wage bill whilst improving the squad.

Early estimates are that Arsenal’s wage bill has reduced by around ยฃ20m over the season. This was achieved with over ยฃ45m worth of wages going out the door, and their replacements costing around ยฃ25m in wages.

A secondary goal of Sanllehi would have been to reduce the age of the squad.

From 7th oldest last season, Arsenal now have the youngest squad in the league.

Prior to this summer, Arsenal’s transfer policy was to buy experienced professionals. Players who were at their peak, but also costly.

It saw the club sign a lot of players over 26-years-old. The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

This summer we saw a return to the transfer policy that made Arsene Wenger so successful.

David Luiz (32) aside, every player Arsenal was 24 or younger.

Nicolas Pepe (24), Dani Ceballos (23), Kieran Tierney (22), Gabrielle Martinelli (18) & William Saliba (18) all joined the club.

The club also promoted the likes of Joe Willock (20), Reiss Nelson (19) and Emile Smith Rowe to the 1st team squad.

Alongside youngsters coming in, Arsenal saw a whole host of players aged over 30 leave the club in the summer.

Pete Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Stephan Lichtsteiner, David Ospina and Nacho Monreal all left over the summer. All aged over 30.

That leaves the club with just 4 players north of 30 – David Luiz, Sokratis, Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Alongside the over 30s, the likes of Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey and Carl Jenkinson also left. All 3 were over Arsenal’s average age in 2018/19.

The club will be concerned that the 2 first choice centre backs are over 30, and it is something which will surely be addressed next summer.

Going from 7th oldest to youngest squad in the league in a single window shows just how good Sanllehi and his team did again over the summer.

3rd is on.

Keenos

https://twitter.com/shewore/status/1169675709687705600?s=21

VAR puts stop to cheating Harry Kane’s “trick”

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Harry Kane is a cheat.

He is not the only one. Many other players in recent years have developed a new way of cheating, a new way of diving. “Initiating contact” is what it is called.

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez won the league with Leicester back in 2015/16 with a key tactic being to initiate contact to win penalties. They scored 10 from the spot that year.

Tottenham have been initiating contact for a while. It is a tactic that Mauricio Pochettino not only supports but promotes.

“Football is about trying to trick your opponent” Pochettino answered following Dele Alli being booked for simulation back in 2018. Clearly the likes of Kane, Alli and Son practise “tricking an opponent” through “initiating contact” considering how regularly they do it (note: Son did not dive at the weekend. It was a clear penalty).

Vardy used to initiate contact with an opponent by sticking his own leg out as he ran past. He would then go down and it would appear he had been fouled. Referees would miss the fact that it was the Englishman who had kicked out at his opponent, not the defender fouling Vardy.

Kane does it in a different manner.

He attempts to get in front of defender, cutting across them which causes contact.

At the weekend Sokratis did not foul Kane. Kane jumped in front of him, initiated the contact and went down. Just because there is contact, does not mean it is a foul.

Kane now has a reputation for this kind of behaviour, and whilst the BBC pundits and his bum chum Jermaine Jenas might not call him a cheat, he is just that. A cheat.

In Pochettino’s mind, Kane is tricking his opponent. He is forcing his opponent to touch him and then going down. I have seen Spurs fans defend his behaviour by calling it “clever”.

Their is a game change now that is going to see the amount of penalties won by the likes of Vardy and Kane dramatically reduce. VAR.

VAR can rule on penalties, for clear and obvious errors by the referee. This will change the match officials mentality when it comes to referring a game where a known cheat is playing.

Instead of blowing up at what seems to be a foul, they will now leave it to VAR to bring it back.

I am certain had VAR not been in place on Saturday, referee Martin Atkinson would have blown up for a penalty. But instead he left the decision in VARs hands.

The television match official informed him that it was not a penalty and the game moved on.

VAR might not be perfect, but it will stamp out the divers, the cheats, the tricksters and those the initiate contact.

Remember, football is a contact sport.

Keenos