The Charlotte sunshine was almost unbearable. We sat in the top tier fully exposed and routinely purchasing $5 bottles of water from the equally sad looking schoolkid who was lumbering around his grate of drinks in 90 degrees. I think my gullibility was partially down to the warped idea that I was helping this poor […]
‘THE £90M strategy’ Positives, Needs and Hopes by Mike McDonald How much would you pay if you could buy winning mentality? I’d pay at least £50M. How much would you pay for an on ball hi-tempo? I’d pay at least £40M. We don’t talk about these changes pre-season as much as we do new players […]
LOOK AROUND THE CORNER AND YOU MIGHT SEE HOPE’ Well, I wasn’t expecting that. The first pre-season game is normally a mess, full of mistakes and general rustiness. That is not what happened at all. Arsenal were very sharp and completely dominant against a team in mid-season. A team with an average age of […]
1) There has been a strange pause in our dealings. Almost signed Saliba and then paused. Close on Tierney, paused. Bid for Zaha, pause. In the first part of this blog, I wondered if we have paused due to prioritizing Zaha. It could be this but it also could be that Kroenke has agreed to a […]
‘Nine Arsenal Thoughts’ By Mike McDonald 1) Why are Arsenal taking so long to buy players this summer? I think that this has everything to do with their pursuit of Zaha, for two good reasons. Firstly, I think that we are not wanting to purchase other players until we know how much we have to […]
‘I’ve pressed pause, Arsenal haven’t.’ by Mike McDonald I have 9 summer thoughts including an explanation for Arsenal’s transfer dealings. Let’s start with the latest twitter angst…. why have we not signed players yet? 1. Lack of signings explained Complaining about a lack of transfers in preseason is a little bit like complaining because you […]
‘Arsenal and the ideal summer scenario’ Talent and impatience. A difficult concoction. Amidst the frustration of not having the budget of those we are trying to catch, Arsenal need credit for their work in the Academy. This is the hope for progress and the chance to catch up. Thankfully, the Ljungberg promotion will have given […]
‘HOPE IN THOSE WITH THEIR SHINPADS IN THEIR HANDS’ Positives, Needs and Hopes END of SEASON REVIEW I’m sure we all have this childhood memory… We build a Lego Tower. Our sibling comes along as we near completion of said tower, and knocks it down. I may have been 6 but at the time this […]
THE FRUSTRATION OF MOTIVATION Positives, Needs and Hopes Sometimes a moment or a performance can sum up a whole season. Sometimes it’s a player. I’ve watched Aubameyang the last two games play with literally double the motivation that he normally does. I’ve felt excited by this, on the edge of my seat when he’s around […]
OVERTAKING or OVERTAKEN? Positives, Needs and Hopes I watched Watford today. I’ve been watching Everton recently. Wolves and Leicester I’ve seen even more often. Not just in action but on paper all these teams have at least half their first eleven that would get in ours. They just need more belief to play like a […]
