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

He literally said 'I'm staying at Juventus unless they fire me', though..?

If we get Arteta (or Viera) instead of this guy, I'll be spewing. Sure, he's a young man but he's an older coach than the other two and didn't get his opportunities because of his playing reputation.

Agreed, but it seems like he's committed to Hoffenheim. They are also in the CL. We are not.

I would be genuinely excited if we got him, but I don't think it's even on the table.

Unfortunately we have to perhaps admit that we are no longer such an attractive destination.

Thing is, we have no idea whatsoever how good Arteta is. 

It's impossible to compare him with established Managers. 

He could be a flop, or he could be Guardiola. 

Guardiola, Zidane and many others got their managerial starts through the club they played at. 

I'm not bothered about Arteta and getting all angsty comparing him to established guys, it'll just be a total lottery and I'll be along for the ride, whatever may come. 

Allegri sounds like a possibility, those quotes are nothing, everybody just plays the game, we really don't know at this point. 

Are you suggesting Hoffenheim is a more attractive destination?

I don't think so, regardless of Champions League qualification. 

By my count there's 4 big jobs going in Europe right now. Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern.

PSG are hampered by their league and seem to have Tuchel wrapped up in any case. Chelsea I think are less attractive than us - no Champs League, an owner with a penchant for firing Managers, and seemingly less power in the transfer market, so that leaves basically Bayern as the only club with more to offer for an incoming Manager.

I think we're a pretty attractive proposition. 

Bayern have hired Niko Kovac from Frankfurt.

It's also (as in any recruitment scenario) not simply getting "the best" manager we can - but getting the right guy in who can pick up where we are and "fix" the squad; work within the structure/personalities of the club, and take us forward.

I'm not convinced (I hate using those words lol) that Arteta is the guy to do that. Yet. He hasn't even managed a club, any club, at all. For that reason alone I'd prefer Paddy V (were that the choice)... though I would much prefer someone like Nagelsmann; even Eddie Howe - that is youngish, fresh, and will bring in some new ideas and look forward... last time we hide a coach like that it worked out ok. 

As much as I'd love to see someone like Allegri or Enrique; I can't see the Kroenke's paying the $$$, and/or giving them the control they'd probably want - particularly now we've got Sanllehi and Mislintat on board.

That notwithstanding, I'll be 100% behind whoever gets the role, as I was AW - unless it's David Moyes :p

Colin Lewin unexpectedly removed from Head Physio role after 25 years at Arsenal, and the rest of the medical team told to re-apply for their jobs, as part of a full re-structure of our medical department. 

Primorac, Peyton and Banfield all removed from the coaching backroom staff.

Bould and Lehmann advised that they can stay. Rumours that Lehmann will remain, but Bould is waiting to see who the new Manager is first. 

Big changes lads, big changes. 

It's a whole new world. 

I'll be behind anyone, unless it's Brendan Rodgers.

Fat Sam might be available soon :)

Yea same, I'm just excited to see something new.

Arteta would get me excited, reading his old quotes about management, seeing how well M.City have gone this year, Guardiola's comments about him etc. Obviously a total stab in the dark but what is there to lose, relegation is the only real fear and surely we couldn't be that bad!

Finishing 8th - 17th seems more attractive than 5th - 7th. The Europa League is an absolute dogs' breakfast and I'd rather not be in it. 

Arteta, Allegri, Jardim, Nagelsmann, Vieira, Henry, Emery, Ancelloti, Conte, Simeone, and anyone else linked, they all have pros and cons and I can see a positive side to any one of them. 

I just want us to get it done so I can focus on the new guy, and looking forward to the new season.

Same goes for the new Nix manager

I saw a funny tweet the other day, can't find it now, but went something like:

Allegri: Yes I'm keen for the job but we need 5 new players. 

Arteta: I can work with Iwobi and Welbeck.

Arsenal: WELCOME ARTETA

Hahaha, good joke.

Interesting piece about Arteta. Apparently Guardiola gave him free reign to take charge of the team and tactics against us in a game in 2016. A few other interesting tidbits in there about what he's bought to Man City since joining;

http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/all-you-need-to-kno...

I'm intrigued by Arteta. Was always a favourite player of mine and one I'd wanted us to sign for years. Only signing I can remember punching the air over when hearing the news actually. He and Mertesacker came in at one of the lowest points in our history after the 8-2 and did a lot to raise the morale around the club. Seemed a good leader and always destined for management and an education under Guardiola and a fresh perspective away from Arsenal will have done him the world. Still a big risk given the lack of experience but I kind of like the idea more than some Premier League veteran like Allardyce or Moyes,  or a wonderkid from a lesser league like AVB to Chelsea. Preference would probably still be for someone like Ancelotti with Arteta as assistant with the intention of taking over after a couple of years. But given we have no CL and won't provide the transfer budget or wage of other big clubs some of the bigger names being talked about are probably not realistic.

Anyway here is the team with the most appearances under Wenger.

Was a little surprised Ramsey is there rather than someone like Gilberto. Holding onto him and making him captain should be top priority with regards to the playing squad. Walcott has the most appearances but is 8th in minutes. Didn't remember Clichy being in the team for that long either but probably chose to forget that!

Interesting team but weird having Ljungberg on the left... 

I'm getting more and more excited about Arteta. 

If it works it would be wonderful. If not, oh well, post-Wenger was always going to be tough, so we move on. I like the gamble I think. 

Certainly does seem to be firming up, no one else is really being rumoured any longer. Allegri has gone quiet, Enrique appears to have priced himself out of it, not much news regarding Vieira and Nagelsmann, and guys like Conte and Ancelotti have never really entered the conversation.

I get the feeling we wanted Arteta all along by the sounds of it.

Rumours this morning that he wants to retain Cazorla in a player/coach role which is interesting. 

Wilshere has apparently missed England's world cup squad, which I think probably strengthens his chances of re-signing with us. I'm sure the Arsenal board, and new Manager, will be more keen knowing that he'll have a full off-season, and be there for all of pre-season. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactiv...

Amazing cartoon on Wenger!

Also Jack's done with us if he wants to take England seriously, no way can he re-establish himself as a starter for England when he's riding our bench.

Haha, brilliant pisstake of The Shawshank Redemption.

He's been in our first choice team when fit for quite a while now, and that still didn't get him in there, I don't think that's the barrier...

Actually seems pretty mad to me that he hasn't made it. He dipped slightly towards the end of the season but overall he's had a good one, redeemed himself to some degree, and England certainly don't have a lot of quality in central midfield. Very surprising, but good for us... 

That was so so good. That Squires... the man is a genius. 

Homage probably a better word; not really a pisstake at all.

I think Ramsey is off; it makes sense - he's always wanted to play overseas, this is likely his last real shot at doing so at a high level, and we need to fund transfers.

Arteta looking like the favourite at this point, have to say it's a very bold appointment.

Despite not yet appointing a Manager there is a bit of transfer talk around. 

Strong rumours about Jean Michael Seri from Nice. Is he a defensive mid or a box-to-box type? Not sure. 

Also rumours around a couple of CBs - Sokratis at Dortmund and Soyuncu at SC Freiburg. 

And the keeper Leno from Bayer Leverkusen.

We certainly seem to be doing a lot of our shopping in Germany since Msinltat came on board. 

Central defence needs to be top priority for recruitment. Koscielny is a write off for next season, perhaps even for good with this injury at his age with his pace already gone anyway. Musafi has been a dud while Holding clearly needs a loan where he's going to play every week. Chambers has been encouraging recently and shown there is a player in there but should still be 3rd choice/backup for now. 

I believe Seri is more of a ball-winning playmaker type than a strict DM. 

https://www.esdfanalysis.com/player-analysis/jean-...

Seri is not a defensive player at all. He tackles worse than Ozil. He's a Ramsey replacement.

Apparently Sokratis has had a terrible season, so maybe can get him for a cut price deal. 

Need 2 top CB, a top GK and another midfielder (2 if Ramsey leaves). A dribbling winger would be nice too..

Re Sokratis, Dortmund in general have had a terrible season. Don't read too much into his form under Bosz, the whole team was a mess defensively for the duration of his tenure.

This is a good piece on the idea of appointing Arteta, by Tom Adams;

http://global.espn.com/football/club/arsenal/359/b...

I really disagree with this. For me had an OK one. He's not at the levels pre-Bournemouth loan where he was bossing midfield, skipping past players and getting stuck in as much. I love the guy but I'm feeling he's heading down the Eduardo path sadly.

Losing Ramsey would hurt us. The guys consistently delivered critical goals from midfield and those would be hard to replace.

I really like this piece on Arsene Wenger's career;

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/04/20/the-dispu...

I would be absolutely shocked if he stayed. He's always talked about wanting to play overseas - I reckon we'll see him at Barcelona or Juve.

It also sounds like we will need additional funds if the 50m rumoured budget is anything to go by.

Wilshere looked like a 35 year old man bumbling around midfield at times. Not surprised he isn't going.

I'm finding the international announcements fascinating. Based on the following we'll have a max of 8 players at the world cup, arguably only 4 of which make our current first 11:

World cup bound:

Welbeck

Elneny

In the mix but squad not announced:

Ospina

Iwobi

Ozil

Xhaka

Monreal

Mustafi

Staying home:

JW10 (missed out)

Lacazette (missed out)

Koscielny (injured)

Cech (didn't qualify)

Ramsey (didn't qualify)

Holding (missed out)

Chambers (missed out)

Mavropanos (didn't qualify)

Kolasinac (didn't qualify)

Mkhitaryan (didn't qualify)

Cazorla (injured)

Maitland-Niles (missed out)

Aubamayang (didn't qualify)

The world cup squads are fantastic news for the next Arsenal season, if not for the players individually.

To have such high profile players not going can only be good for our preparation. 

Of those ones that might go in brumbys list, there's probably a chance that Monreal and Mustafi could miss out, but Ozil, Xhaka, Iwobi and Ospina will be locked in.

Ospina and Iwobi will be fine, I don't expect them to be near our starting eleven, and Ospina will probably leave anyway. 

Theoretically we could start the season with no world cup players in our first eleven, meaning we have a fit and focussed side on opening day. 

First World Cup with no Arsenal players in the France squad since 1986 by my reckoning.

Hahahaha it's funny to say it that way because France didn't qualify in 1990 and 1994... but technically it is correct!

We can also say that there was at least one Arsenal player at the world cup for France, for every single World Cup while Arsene Wenger was our Manager. 

Reiss Nelson named Premier League 2 player of the season. 

Didn't look like much when he made first team appearances but there's obviously some talent there.