(The not-so-temporary quite-official) Gooner Thread (Part 2)

Your disparaging comments will not have any affect on me. You have always come across as being  reasonably intelligent and have common sense. However, having been to Uni you seem to be like the rest of them that you are smarter and the world owes you a living. 

You might be good at researching ( anyone can do do this with google) but in the university of life you would rank pretty lowly.

Regarding the presale for Sydney someone from Arsenal box office has already replied 3 minutes after they would have opened for the day asking if I received the email about a 48 hour priority window for the presale and once I confirm that's what I received they will give me the information I need. 

An epic rant from a fellow Gooner... sadly, it's hard to disagree with much of it...

https://www.periscope.tv/Memz_Dogi/1djGXXgLjroGZ

Oh - and Higuain is off to Juve ('cos we dicked around, again).

Arsenal box office replied again saying there will be an email with a link and password sent out today but also gave me the password in advance. Tried it on the ticketek page for 2 Match passes and it does take you through to selecting tickets so got excited for a moment but nothing is available yet as it's not yet opened. Let me know if you want the info when I receive it.

Assuming we were in for him - the problem with transfers rumours is they're just that. Rumours.

@AJC please keep me in the loop - thanks mateeeee :)

Here's pricing for two-match passes... dunno if this is standard or if presales are cheaper (they're not usually). Also - $AUD.

Will do mate.

Surge, the prices are cut off in the pic, but they seem to be a bit cheaper than buying separately for both games which you'd expect. For example, adult category B 2 match pass is $233.47 compared to $263.04 (ie, 131.52 x 2) if you booked each match separately.

But, yeah!

Bit of a nightmare trying to get through on that Aus supporters club presale yesterday but eventually bit the bullet and got 2 tickets for each match. The presale didn't seem to work for the 2 match passes so separate tickets cost a bit more but decided to go for it rather than wait and risk missing out in the Ticketek presale or general sale. The site was overloaded just as it usually is for the NZ site when something popular goes on sale too.

Received the details from Arsenal about their digital member presale too. Starts 8pm our time tonight and password is GUNNERS2016. 

https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=...

a report from Napoli's radio station claiming that we have offered 50mil plus Giroud for Higuain. fudgeing crazy money. 

also we are supposidly out to hijack West ham deal for AC's Bacca. I dont know much about him. anyone?

Better than Giroud.

These rumoured swap deals never happen in football. It's not the NBA.

Yeah, you mean apart from when we sold Cashley to Chelsea and got Gallas in return?

Or when Barca bought Zlatan off Inter and sent Eto'o their way?

That was bloody funny

Almost never then. Plenty are rumoured every summer and you have come up with 2 in the last 10 years. The Cashley one can hardly be described as a regular transfer either given him being tapped up for months and Gallas having gone on strike and threatened to score own goals to force a move away from Chelsea. The Giroud-Higuain swap deal is almost certainly fiction.

We won't sign Higuain full stop so it's moot anyway really.

Interesting opinion piece on Woijcech vs Ospina as the number 2

https://arseblog.com/2016/07/be-my-number-two/ 

More good stuff from arseblog - he really does write well & have some well thought through opinions...

https://arseblog.com/2016/07/state-squad-requires-f...

"I think to really feel like the issues we had with goals have been addressed we need two signings here. A striker and a wide man. The team needs goals, but it also needs something fresh. I have no appetite to see the same players spurn the same opportunities and display their inadequacies again. They’ve had their chances and if they respond well to greater competition in the squad then I’d be delighted, but to bank on them now would be borderline crazy.

Signings needed here in a big way. These are the players who, ultimately, can make the difference between 1 point and 3. The men who can give us some cutting edge in games when chances are scarce and efficiency is the key. I believe it’s what we do here that will define our season to a large extent, so let’s hope there’s something cooking."

The more I think about Higuain the more I don't think that signing will work without the step up in quality from out wide - something a 2nd signing is needed for.

Oh and in other news Campbell wants to stick around & fight for a place - which is good news from my perspective.

Signing Mahrez would make massive sense to me. 

He's apparently got a release clause well under 30m. 

You could put a cardboard box in front of Mahrez, Ozil and Sanchez and it will probably get 30 goals. 

Seen on twitter, some decent sources saying Rob Holding of Bolton (20yo CB) has undergone a medical. We're rumoured to have been after him for the last month or two. 

England U21 this year. Few teams been after him.

End of Calum Chambers perhaps?

Currently reading the Romford Pele's autobio' and currently at the invincibles stage of his career - he specifically points out how important it was that we had four top quality strikers (DB10, TH14, NK25, and SW11) as well as added wide threats, namely RP7 and FL8.

God, those were the days.

Please, just two more attackers - and a defender lol.

I hope not, I like the kid. Would love to see him push on, just wasn't really given a run of games after that spell at RB previous to Hector's Rising (part 3 in cinemas August)

He was one of Milan's better performers last year in a pretty sharkty team. He's not a like for like replacement of Giroud but I think Bacca would be a good fit for Arsenal's style - he would certainly push Giroud for a spot.

If Bacca goes, we'll be fudged.

That's a pretty good analysis, I agree we need two attackers. 

It's different now in that we play only one striker, so we don't need four strikers, but having said that, Ozil really fills that Bergkamp role anyway. 

If you perhaps compare the 6 names you've mentioned with our current squad I would say we have equal talent as per the below, and where there are blanks, those are the two I think we need to sign.

DB10 - Ozil

TH14 - 

NK25 - Welbeck

SW11 - Giroud

RP7 - Sanchez

FL6 - 

Add a top class striker and another good wide man, and we'd have all the attacking ingredients. At the moment we basically have Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi and Campbell filling those blank spots. 

Ox could come right, Iwobi is very young, not really sure what the deal with Campbell is, and Walcott I think has had his chance and should be turfed. 

We had a far better back four though.

And Vieira.

Yea Viera was one of a kind. We have a stronger group of midfielders in our squad now, but none of them are as good as Vieira individually.

Back four/keeper was very settled and well established back then. We're not too far off that with this current lot though, to be fair. Only weak spot is probably Mertesacker on occasion. Cech, Bellerin and Koscielny are world class, and Monreal isn't too far off that either. 

That was the last team we had with no standout weaknesses. In Henry, Vieira, Campbell and probably Cashley we had 4 players at their peak who were the best in the world in their positions. And others like Bergkamp, Pires, Gilberto and Lehmann who were maybe the best in the league. We were also extremely lucky with injuries that season and were able to play almost the same starting lineup every week. If I recall correctly I think only Parlour and Edu outside of the first choice 11 made over 10 starts in the league. 

Anyway, agree another wide forward is needed so we don't have to endure another season of Walcott, Ox and later on Welbeck on the wing. Ramsey's Euro performances proved he should be in the middle, and we just lack a lot of creativity without a proper wide man on the right. However, striker if nothing else. Ozil was setting records for chances created last season so even with no other additions someone like Higuain would have made a massive difference.

I just want us to sign someone already LOL would be nice to get some business done early. Campbell over Walcott for me any day of the week really. will be some really interesting mid options this season with Wilshere, Santi, Rambo, Eleny, Xhaka and Coq......we really missed Santi last season once he got injured. 

Was just chatting to a colleague at work;

If we had to open the season with the squad as it stands you could try this:

                     Giroud

    Walcott     Cazorla   Campbell

                Wilshere  Xakha

Monreal Mertesacker Gabriel Bellerin

                         Cech

Assuming Ramsey, Kosc, & Sanchez, Ozil are all late back.

Edit: sh*t that's unconvincing.

Giroud will be late back as well... potentially Xhaka too... 

Aside from that, decent team. 

Probably have Walcott up top with the Ox (or Iwobi) on one flank if Giroud isn't there, and Coquelin/Elneny in for Xhaka if needed in midfield.

That's a LOT of quality players to be missing initially though... it is key that we get off to an okay start without these guys. 

Forgot about Giroud...

So you're 'possibly missing' group are all starters at present:

Sanchez, Ozil, Giroud, Ramsey, Xhaka, Koscielny - more than half your starting 11.

Pretty scary thought for that Liverpool opener August 15th.

Liverpool will probably only be missing Emre Can and Joe Allen.

Can is a very good player but Allen only makes their bench anyway.

Not cool. 

This is why Aubameyang would be ideal - he plays for Gabon who haven't ever qualified for the World Cup & haven't gone further than the African Cup of Nations Quarterfinals - wouldn't spend his summers getting shattered aka Sanchez.

Alexis will be at Confeds this time next year terrorising Michael Boxall so we won't be seeing him down here, as well as a few others I'd expect.