Merry Christmas...it's December Football 2019

To be fair to our member of the public, if that pick up, drive infield and slip through to a dozy Abraham is indicative of his abilities, then Cafu will soon be shedding tears at his newfound irrelevance to the history of the right back position.

And now he takes off their best player. Fucking hell.

I wonder if Tariq Lamptey is anything to do with the great Nii Lamptey.

Jorginho should have been sent off there for sure.

Troare on the bench for Wolves today. Liverpool with the same team but with Lallana in for Keita. Wouldnt want to be Robertson if Traore comes on late in the 2nd half.

People thinking Traore is any good whatsoever is the greatest trick the devil ever pulled.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I don't get the Arsenal are better narrative. They look an atrociously poor side and should be 3-1 down.

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Originally Posted by phonics

Jorginho should have been sent off there for sure.

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I hate football

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Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd

I don't get the Arsenal are better narrative. They look an atrociously poor side and should be 3-1 down.

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Jog on. You’re saying Chelsea should have scored with every shot they have had on target.

That's outstanding.

We've been all over you ever since we changed the formation - not to any great effect as we aren't that creative and Abraham has been poor, but Arsenal have been shite.

Which equals scoring with literally every shot on target?

Ah that’s the arsenal I know and love.

With every shot on target.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

That's a terrific counter attack. So clever from Abraham.

The Arsenal Way. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Gray Fox

Troare on the bench for Wolves today. Liverpool with the same team but with Lallana in for Keita. Wouldnt want to be Robertson if Traore comes on late in the 2nd half.

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I'm anticipating that not being an issue but even if it were, he'll spend more time trying to cover Mane and Robertson than we will trying to cover him. I think it'll be a solid win again today tbh.

As for Arsenal....they are shit, Arteta won't change that without big money being spent (I also don't see him being the answer despite his reputation, that's all he has) and Chelsea aren't much better now the 'bounce' has gone. It will be a good win for them but I still fancy Tottenham to take that 4th spot especially if they can tighten up a bit at the back. Chelsea's season needs to be put into perspective much the same as Leicesters. No one should have expected them to challenge for the league and even top four would have been a great season given their restrictions in the transfer market, it was a good start but nothing more. They'll be more of a threat next season with a couple of experienced additions and the continuation of giving their youngsters a go.

Fucking have some of that. The place emptied as soon as we went 2-1 up.

A great day for the Staunch right wingers of Glasgow and London

Chelsea just bossed that from the minute the first half sub was made. I think I remember one Arsenal shot.

I'm also sure I saw Ozil having a go at a teammate for not closing someone down, which should see him never play for the club again.

I signed up to TheAthletic and there was an interesting snippet with regards to Ozil and Arsenal's transfer rubbish. Spoilered in case any one is interested in the read.

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There are many reasons that transfers break down. “The case of Nuri Sahin,” former Arsenal transfer negotiator Dick Law explains to The Athletic, “is classic Arsene Wenger.”With Alex Song poised to join Barcelona in the summer of 2012, Arsenal were looking to sign the Turkish midfielder on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. “I knew the agent, we got the player side done and he was in Madrid, and so I went down, met with Jose Angel (Sanchez, the Real Madrid managing director). We hammered out a deal… and then Arsene started stalling.”
Wenger had an infamous habit of prevaricating over transfers. “Arsene never said ‘yes’ until he absolutely felt like he had to say ‘yes’ to a deal,” explains Law.
In fairness, Arsenal were operating in a difficult financial landscape. Hit hard by the 2008 property market collapse, they were understandably cautious in the market. “The way I always characterised it is that we just couldn’t afford to make a big mistake,” says Law.
A loan deal for Sahin, however, was not a huge commitment. After three weeks of delays, Real Madrid were unhappy and ready to pull the plug on the deal. Law flew to Madrid to try to appease them on the ground, but on his arrival for a meeting a file was dropped on the desk showing that the Spanish club had agreed a deal with Liverpool. Not only that, but it was on better financial terms. Law called Wenger to explain the turn of events. “Well,” he chuckles, “that was like setting a match to a tinderbox.”
Wenger refused to meet Madrid’s demands, and Sahin joined Liverpool. The player and his representative were none-too-pleased, with Law on the receiving end of “a few choice words”.
Arsenal fans, meanwhile, were left disappointed. The Sahin interest had been public for some time, only for him to be snatched away at the last moment.
There is an old adage among football fans that you shouldn’t believe a transfer rumour until you see the player pop up on your club’s official website. Sometimes though, even that proves faulty, as it was in 2001, when Jerzy Dudek was so close to signing for Arsenal that his profile appeared on the club site’s squad page.

Dudek had travelled to London for talks with Wenger, and agreed personal terms. It was seemingly a fait accompli. When a Feyenoord spokesperson was asked if their goalkeeper was on his way to Arsenal, he replied: “That is correct — Arsenal have said it. We are waiting for our president to confirm with Mr [David] Dein”.
Dudek himself can pick up the story. “I came back to Feyenoord with hope that the clubs would agree a fee, but Feyenoord wanted £10 million. Wenger was only willing to give £7 million,” the Poland international later explained. Wenger opted for Ipswich Town’s Richard Wright instead, and Dudek joined Liverpool two months later — for less than the £7 million Arsenal had been offering.
In 2004, video game developers Konami were so confident Arsenal would complete the signing of Hatem Trabelsi that they included him in the club’s line-up for Pro Evolution Soccer 4. In fairness to them, they had reason to believe the deal was all but done.

Ajax director Arie van Eijden had emphatically told AD Sportwereld, “It is nice that this case has been dealt with. Just a few minor details must be handled before Arsenal will declare it official. We have had an agreement with Arsenal for several days but we had to wait until Arsenal and the player reached an agreement.”
All that was left was Trabelsi’s medical — but that highlighted some concerns. Arsenal then tried to restructure the deal, but to no avail. Instead, Wenger waited a few months before signing a summer triallist who had impressed against Ajax in the Amsterdam Tournament: the unknown Emmanuel Eboue.
Law, who worked as Wenger’s transfer negotiator from September 2009 to February 2018, knows better than most how fragile transfer talks can be: “Even when we had signatures on papers, I knew that we had to go through our registration process and you just never knew what the FA could come with, or FIFA could come up with at the last minute.”
The summer of 2013 was particularly eventful. Arsenal fans remember it for the record purchase of Mesut Ozil and the doomed pursuit of Luis Suarez, but before all that the club were on the precipice of signing another Real Madrid player, Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain. The player’s father even told Fox Sports Latin America, “We managed to get permission from Real Madrid to negotiate face to face with Arsenal. Fortunately, I will soon be able to watch my son play in the Premier League.” In the end, it would be another five and a half years before Higuain would perform in England’s top flight, wearing Chelsea’s colours.
As Law confirms, finding an agreement with the player was not the problem. “I went to Madrid and Jose Angel was always a gentleman and always very up-front. He said, ‘Please, speak to the player and get that piece done’ — and we did.
“Then, when I sat down with Jose Angel, he said, ‘We want €45 million for the player.’”
It was a huge fee at the time. Arsenal’s transfer record was a deal for Andrey Arshavin at less than half that price. Law protested, but Real Madrid stood firm.
“I said, ‘Jose Angel, I’m sorry but I’m missing something here. You know, he’s had at least four or five managers while he’s been here and he’s never been a starter for any one of them’. He started talking about the quality of the player and the person, and I said, ‘Listen, I get all that but you’re asking €45 million for a player who’s, at best, a squad player… and he said, ‘Well, that’s our price.’”
The deal was dead in the water. Napoli, flush with cash having sold Edison Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain, swooped in to take Higuain.
That led Arsenal to pursue a deal for Suarez. Their bid of £40 million plus another £1 has been widely derided, but Law insists all parties understood there was no true “release clause”.
“Pere Guardiola was the agent,” Law explains. “He was very forthright, his position was really based on a verbal understanding — not a written understanding, because the actual written clause as we know was not a buy-out clause; not even close to a buy-out clause… But Pere insisted that he had a verbal agreement that Liverpool would negotiate in good faith if a certain number was exceeded. He believed they’d listen to offers above £40 million. Well, they listened and…”
The rest is enshrined in history. Arsenal thought they finally had the centre-forward they wanted on deadline day. While fans went wild over the imminent Ozil deal, behind the scenes Law and others were also trying to negotiate a permanent deal for Chelsea striker Demba Ba. They got so close that Arsenal staff prepared graphics for use on the club website, but they never saw the light of day.
“I was in Paris, at rest, and Arsenal representatives called me to tell me it was going to happen,” Ba told France Football. Ba travelled back to London expecting to be an Arsenal player. By the time he arrived, the deal was off.
The suggestion was that, concerned by Ozil’s arrival, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was wary of potentially strengthening a rival. “Their manager just changed his mind,” said Law. “I understand Mourinho’s decision as a coach, but as a player, you are frustrated,” Ba added.
In his final season with the club, Law worked on the ill-fated bid for Thomas Lemar. That was a transfer saga that ran through a whole summer. Arsenal had started negotiating in June, only for Monaco’s valuation to prove prohibitive. Then at 10.30pm, two days before the window was due to close, Law received a call from Vadim Vasilyev, the Monaco CEO. With little time to spare, Monaco had decided they would do a deal.
Law met with Wenger and Ivan Gazidis, and they tried to set in motion a sequence of events that would see Alexis Sanchez leave Arsenal for Manchester City and Lemar move to London. The issue, in this instance, was time. Lemar had been called up by the France national team and was due to play that night.
“By the time we were able to get in front of the player on match day — this is 3pm — the player says, ‘This is too much stress for me. I’m just going to stay at Monaco,’” Law reveals. Arsenal were a little taken aback: they had already agreed personal terms with the player, and even offered to increase their proposed terms. Nonetheless, Lemar needed more time to think — time Arsenal didn’t have.
Doing deals mid-season, in the January transfer window, can be even more problematic. Arsenal are expected to be active in the forthcoming window, but the fans should do their utmost to contain their excitement until everything is signed and sealed. They know from experience just how delicate these deals can be.

They weren't amazing but that's still the best I've seen Arsenal play in ages.

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Originally Posted by John

You didn't even mention Mooy in your review of Brighton's best signings, so that must have been some goal if it's put him alongside the best in the league. I like him though, he always seemed a cut above the rest of the squad at Huddersfield.

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You must not have noticed me covering myself extremely cleverly with the 'current season impact alone' caveat ... Yeah not very consistent of me. It's difficult rating loan signings.

I was referring to your post in the half season review thread.

The whole thing around Leno was that he’s good but has a few howlers in his pocket. Him going from player of the season to failing to punch 3 points is so on brand it’s perfect.

I waked through a graveyard and then tripped over a pothole and did my ankle on the way out which feels very on brand.

Edit: Reg, ignore John being incredibly pedantic and boring. He can’t help it. It’s the only thing that gives him joy.

Oh Arsenal. :')

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Originally Posted by phonics

Edit: Reg, ignore John being incredibly pedantic and boring. He can’t help it. It’s the only thing that gives him joy.

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It isn't, actually.

It was almost like a massive Nazi salute Leno was doing for the first goal, perhaps in homage to Bert Trautmann. A touching moment.

That Leeds game looks like a right laugh.

They’re finally coming up :drool:

Chelsea v Arsenal in three weeks' time in the league. Funny time of year.

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Originally Posted by John

I was referring to your post in the half season review thread.

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I know, hence my reply. :thbup:

That would have been a goal regardless of where it hit.

LiVARpool strikes again.

That one was a goal, though baldie nearly fucked it up with his trademark shit refereeing.

If they disallow this one then unfortunately that will be the last football ever played, the people won't allow it.

Wolves. :cool:

That VAR decision is absolutely ridiculous.

Good finish. The fuck is the celebration though.

Ridiculous decision, that.

You have to feel for Wolves with their goal. It’s just not clear and obvious. It’s bullshit.

Fuck off. That’s three in a 24 hours. It’s so fucking pointless

Get the fuck outta here. :D

I get var. Its a work in progress. It should really only be offisde if your foot is

You can only have video offsides if there is a Hawk Eye thing. If we don't have that precision of technology, then no video offsides I'm afraid. You can't have blokes drawing lines. It is absolutely farcical and robs the supporters.

Forget the racism, this shit is what players should be walking out for.

It’s just boring at this point. They’re actively looking to stop goals from being scored.

oh please bin this garbage in the summer.

More ridiculous bollocks. Robbed of a great finish there too.

I want him to score again for that celebration

VAR providing its positives and negatives inside 5 minutes though.