Tag Archives: She Wore

Arsenal clear out set to begin

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Following a very good transfer window in terms of who came in to Arsenal, the bit Arsenal clear out has still not really taken place.

Before the English transfer window shut, Arsenal moved on the likes of Krystian Bielik, Carl Jenkinson and Alex Iwobi. They also sold David Ospina and Laurent Koscielny to clubs abroad.

Whilst the English transfer window might have closed, the windows in France, German and Spain do not slam shut until 2nd September, whilst the Serie A window shuts on the 23rd August. This means there is still plenty of time for Arsenal to move a few more players on.

Unai Emery dropped a huge hint that Shkodran Mustafi is off by not even selecting him to sit on the bench in the clubs opening game against Newcastle.

The Spaniard picked Calum Chambers and Sokratis to start the match. Mustafi did not even make the bench even though Arsenal only had one other fit defender (David Luiz).

Mohamed Elneny will surely not be too far behind Mustafi out of the door.

The Egyptian midfielder barely played last season and now finds himself behind Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, ,Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland Niles and Joe Willock. Chambers would likely also get in ahead of him.

With the arrival of Kieran Tierney, Arsenal currently have 3 left backs – the Manxman joining Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac.

The feeling is if a big enough offer comes in for Kolasinac, Arsenal will consider it.

Monreal recently signed a new 1 year deal and would be unlikely to raise much in transfer funds. The experienced Spaniard was named as part of Emery’s leadership team and will surely stay about for another year.

If Arsenal do cash in on all 3 players, they can expect to recoup around £50million. This would take it to over £100m received from sold players, topping the bank account back up to go again next summer.

All is bright, all is beautiful, all is red and white.

Keenos

Arsenal’s missing XI highlights squad depth

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Arsenal’s victory over Newcastle was a well ground out victory in a game of few chances.

1-nil to The Arsenal the crowd sang in in a defensively display that would have made George Graham proud.

Winning away from home on the opening day of the season is not an easy task. The 3 points are even more impressive when you consider just who Arsenal were missing.

The XI that you could make from players that did not start would probably be a better side than the one which came back from St James’ Park for 3 points.

Emiliano Martinez will play 2nd fiddle to Bernd Leno this season. Whilst he is not close to the German’s high standard, he has performed admirably in pre season.

Arsenal were pretty much missing their 1st choice back for against Newcastle, with Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney all out. Add in David Luiz who was only on the bench and you have a decent defence. And that is without even considering Sead Kolasinac.

Prior to the 1st game of the season, many fans were putting their ideal Arsenal XI in paper. The majority that I saw had Dani Ceballos and Lucas Torreira in them. Against Newcastle Ceballos came off the bench and Torreira remained on it.

Arsenal’s record signing Nicolas Pepe was another player who unsurprisingly did not start. The £72m man has barely been with the club a week and only recently returned from Miami following the African Cup of Nations.

Mesut Ozil did not travel due to the well publicised security concerns. Arsenal missed his creative spark in a game of little chances.

On the left wing, Gabriele Martinelli got some surprising minutes against Newcastle, showing just how highly he is rated by the Arsenal management. You also have the more experience Kolasinac who could provide us with some brute force in certain games.

Finally last years player of the season Alexandre Lacazette was on the bench but not risked following a minor injury picked up in pre season.

I wonder just who would win between the two teams.

https://twitter.com/keenosafc/status/1160962955841822720?s=21

And we even have enough left to field a 5-a-side team over at Goals in Chingford: Macey Mustsfi Elneny SmithRowe Martinelli

Keenos

Match Report: Newcastle 0 – 1 Arsenal

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Newcastle United (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 1
Premier League
St. James’ Park, Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4ST
Sunday, 11th August 2019. Kick-off time: 2.00pm

(4-2-3-1) Bernd Leno; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Calum Chambers, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nacho Monreal; Mattéo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka; Reiss Nelson, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Joe Willock; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Emiliano Martínez, Dani Ceballos, Alexandre Lacazette, Lucas Torreira, Nicolas Pépé, David Luiz, Gabriel Martinelli.

Scorers: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (58 mins)
Yellow Cards: Granit Xhaka; Reiss Nelson, Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: circa 47,600

You’ve really got to wonder haven’t you? This always happens on the first day of a new season; high (and sometimes unreasonable) media predictions along with the exuberance of supporters means that we all get carried along on a wave of hope, and God forbid, horror. Having said all that, this victory today in a rainy St. James’ Park was a fantastic way to start this, an extremely important season for us all.
I would much rather be us than them; demonstrations against the owners outside the ground, a much publicised toothless boycott along with their new/old signing wearing an “icon” baseball cap; can this really be life in the 21st Century for the Magpies?

Arsenal however, absolutely ooze determination, class and a desire for success. We saw this in the first half, when Newcastle United pinned us back in our own half for long periods, with Jonjo Shelvey prodding and poking our defence with sweeping passing and snap shooting. Indeed, it was just before half-time when a shot from Shelvey clattered against the post, with Bernd Leno beaten. Trudging off the field, our players looked a wee bit downhearted, but there was nothing that happened in the first half for them to question themselves; if anything, theirs was the glory, despite the driving rain.

As we observed in the last campaign, our reserves of strength appear in the second half of matches, and this looks as if it will be the same this season. Although Unai Emery left most of the new signings on the bench for this match, the players that took the field simply assumed control, with the remarkable Ainsley Maitland-Niles winning balls and getting first to tackles in the midfield  areas, and it has to be said that his influence and spirit inspired the others to go ahead and win this match. It was starting to look as if three points were there for the taking, and slowly and surely, we were directing traffic as only we could.

The goal, when it came, amazed everyone, snd in some ways, surprised no-one. Ainsley Maitland-Niles seized the ball from the hapless Paul Dummet’s wayward pass, and suddently everyone in the stadium sensed that something special was on. Simply ignoring the poor efforts of  Jamaal Lascelles, he slotted an inch perfect ball into the space between the defence and the goalkeeper where the predatory Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lay in wait like a hungry shark eyeing its prey. Just two touches from the Gabon international and the ball was in the back of the net in the blink of an eye, and from this moment onwards, the Magpies were finished.

Unai Emery brought on three newbies, namely Dani Ceballos, Gabriel Martinelli and our record signing, young Nicolas Pépé to lively up ourselves, which certainly worked. With our substitutes on the pitch, we became imaginative, brave and in a funny way, risk averse. Newcastle never looked as if they were able to equalise at any time, let along provide the spark to go and grab one; Arsenal just simply did what they always do best, namely shut up shop, keep the ball and run the clock down, which they successfully did.
Lots of good things came from today’s performance in Newcastle, the “Young Guns” who were utterly superb, as well as the older players who worked tirelessly to keep the much-coveted clean sheet, which at this level is an increasingly hard thing to achieve. Much too early for us to get excited, but a win on the first day of the season is one that sends us all back to work tomorrow with a smile on our faces, and hope in our hearts for a successful campaign.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Next match: Burnley at The Emirates on Saturday,17th August at 12.30pm. Be there. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.