VAR asleep at the wheel today

Important win. All eyes now turn to Bukayo Saka's hamstring

Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

OneBlitzer said:

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Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

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Liverpool are starting to look like their legs are going out due to lack of rotation (we've seen that story before), too bad we've dropped so many points from winning positions or we could have made a serious run

gougler08 said:

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OneBlitzer said:

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Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

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Liverpool are starting to look like their legs are going out due to lack of rotation (we've seen that story before), too bad we've dropped so many points from winning positions or we could have made a serious run

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Unfortunately, our legs also gave out.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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gougler08 said:

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OneBlitzer said:

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Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

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Liverpool are starting to look like their legs are going out due to lack of rotation (we've seen that story before), too bad we've dropped so many points from winning positions or we could have made a serious run

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Unfortunately, our legs also gave out.

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Well mostly our knees and hamstrings

gougler08 said:

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OneBlitzer said:

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Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

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Liverpool are starting to look like their legs are going out due to lack of rotation (we've seen that story before), too bad we've dropped so many points from winning positions or we could have made a serious run

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Well, we have also dropped 13 points in 5 games in which we did not score a goal. 3 losses, 2 draws. 2 of the losses we 0-1.

Liverpool has failed to score only once this season, in a loss.

10 point spread there from our failure to score, and still 7 if you toss out the Bournemouth Saliba red-card 0-2 loss.


It gets really dire if you consider Liverpool has only scored less than 2 goals in only 3 matches.

gougler08 said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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gougler08 said:

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OneBlitzer said:

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Satisfying win. Appreciate the refuse to drop points effort.

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Liverpool are starting to look like their legs are going out due to lack of rotation (we've seen that story before), too bad we've dropped so many points from winning positions or we could have made a serious run

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Unfortunately, our legs also gave out.

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Well mostly our knees and hamstrings

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I never took anatomy but those are part of the leg still, right?

Haha valid

HAVE ARSENAL BEEN... FOUND OUT? 😬

Rog and Rory discuss whether the Gunners’ corner kick magic may be a thing of the past on this week’s Men in Blazers Pod, presented by @CamarenaTequila pic.twitter.com/CTZiC2ge7H

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) March 18, 2025

PJYoung said:

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HAVE ARSENAL BEEN... FOUND OUT? 😬

Rog and Rory discuss whether the Gunners’ corner kick magic may be a thing of the past on this week’s Men in Blazers Pod, presented by @CamarenaTequila pic.twitter.com/CTZiC2ge7H

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) March 18, 2025

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I mean, makes sense. As with any sport, once something really works, teams find a way to guard it / mimic it

The question is whether Jover can adjust and come up with new options that work. I feel like he's been trying some new stuff. He just hasn't found the same success yet. Bottom line with coaching, anything you do will eventually get figured out by other managers. Good manager/coach will figure out how to adjust.

We just did something different against Chelsea and Merino scored that header.

Instead of running at the far post like we usually have done, we crowded the near post and the entire back half of the goal was wide open and completely undefended.

Like everything, it will be a game of chess and adjustments.

Califiori injured his knee yesterday playing for Italy. Non-contact slipped on the grass and down he went. Saying 2-3 weeks minimum, but I'd expect a shade longer

Been some rumors of Real being interested in Cala. I like Cala but Im concerned about his knee. That is 2x this season that he tweaked the same knee the same way. Im tired of injury prone players. I want a full season with minimal injury disruption.

This seems like just some bad luck rather than some structural or other underlying issue with his knee

TXAggie2011 said:

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This seems like just some bad luck rather than some structural or other underlying issue with his knee

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maybe, maybe not..... when you tear a ligament in your knee you have a greater chance of damaging the other due to the added stress you place on the undamaged knee during recovery. when he was 16 he ruptured ALL of the ligaments in his left knee. now this is the 2nd non-contact injury to his right knee this season and historically he has had muscular injuries (hammy, calf) with his legs. may be coincidence. may be a sign of things to come. I really like the guy but I'm not sure I would immediately so no if a solid offer came in.

🚨🔴⚪️ “Hello again”, says Bukayo Saka on Instagram… he’s back in training with Arsenal squad.

He’ll be also ready to face Real Madrid in UCL Quarter Finals. pic.twitter.com/crzNShuUCW

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 27, 2025

Would you do it at 30% off?

TXAggie2011 said:

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🚨🔴⚪️ “Hello again”, says Bukayo Saka on Instagram… he’s back in training with Arsenal squad.

He’ll be also ready to face Real Madrid in UCL Quarter Finals. pic.twitter.com/crzNShuUCW

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 27, 2025

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Hell yes

TXAggie2011 said:

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🚨🔴⚪️ “Hello again”, says Bukayo Saka on Instagram… he’s back in training with Arsenal squad.

He’ll be also ready to face Real Madrid in UCL Quarter Finals. pic.twitter.com/crzNShuUCW

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 27, 2025

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He'll almost certainly be on the bench against Fulham. Multiple people said that if it had been absolutely necessary, he probably could have played before the break. Now he's had an extra few weeks to continue his build up.

Nope.

It's so God awful, how could you not?

CatD11Ag said:

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Would you do it at 30% off?

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30% off what?

🚨 JUST IN from @oscarbadallo:

Martin Zubimendi is on his way to Arsenal. 🇪🇸

Real Sociedad want the €60m quickly so they can wave goodbye to him on the pitch. ✨

First to the news, @imxxxd7. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/nTiHinoEnQ

— Eduardo Hagn (@EduardoHagn) March 29, 2025

Seeing lots of chatter about Gyokeres becoming a more viable option. Supposedly he has a handshake agreement with Sporting to let him go for 65-70m euro this summer.

Are we spending around 300m?

There have been rumors

Based on the current rumors.....

DM - Zubi
ST - Sesko or Gyokeres
W - Williams or Semenyo (much less active rumors right now)

Each of the "big 3" need positions is rumored to cost 50-70m. Outside of that we are linked to Joan Garcia (20m GK) and a host of LB & CM with a rumored fee of 10-50m.

As the roster currently stands we will absolutely need a #2 GK and a young backup DM or CM. Could see LB, CB & maybe young development W become a need depending on additional departures.

Gonna be interesting to see how it all pans out. Berta has been announced now so we have a DoF in place.

Sounds like Zubi is pretty close to done. Personally would've liked to focus on a more creative #8, but maybe we get a younger one in (or maybe that's the long term future of MLS). Might also see a decent amount of Havertz there if we get a new starting striker. We were linked with Nypan and maybe we go back in for him

Who knows what is gonna happen up top. The club obviously seem to love Sesko more than anyone else out there. Hugo Ekitike is another young one thrown around having a big year in Germany.

We tried to sign Joan Garcia last year for high 20s, and that price will have only gone up. Espanyol might get relegated which would lower his release clause, but he is gonna be a hot commodity and there probably be a bidding war. I'd be shocked if he goes for less than 30m.

Squad build next year will be interesting if the expected people leave. (Jorgi, Partey, Tierney, Kiwior, Zinny)

GK: Raya, 2nd GK (Garcia) or maybe Hein for a year

RB: Timber, White, Tomi
RCB: Saliba, Timber, White
LCB: Gabriel, Calafiori
LB: MLS, Cala
DM: Zubi, Rice
LCM: Rice, Havertz, MLS?
ACM: Odegaard, Nwaneri
RW: Saka, Nwaneri,
LW: Martinelli, Trossard
S: New CF, Havertz

Still think we need at least 2 more bodies in the midfield. We run a very demanding strategy to only have 5 guys there.

Arteta said Saka is ready to go so I'd expect he gets a decent chunk of time off the bench tomorrow. Also said Calafiori is still out for a few weeks.

wangus12 said:

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Sounds like Zubi is pretty close to done. Personally would've liked to focus on a more creative #8, but maybe we get a younger one in (or maybe that's the long term future of MLS). Might also see a decent amount of Havertz there if we get a new starting striker. We were linked with Nypan and maybe we go back in for him

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By all accounts Zubi is close if not effectively done. Need a young backup DM unless the plan is to use Rice or MLS there when Zubi is hurt or needs a rest.

I think MLS will play in MF fulltime eventually. I'd guess he plays primarily at LB this season with some occasional app at DM or LCM.

If we don't sign a young backup DM we 100% need a young backup LCM for depth when Rice shifts back. THat very well could be Nypan.

Personally, I would not play Havertz at LCM. I would rotate him between ST & RCM to keep the new ST & MO fresh. When he is put in at RCM, I would shift the formation into a 4-4-2 with Havertz as a SS.

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Who knows what is gonna happen up top. The club obviously seem to love Sesko more than anyone else out there. Hugo Ekitike is another young one thrown around having a big year in Germany.

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I get the general impression that we may be taping the breaks on Sesko. We've done a good bit of work there and he may still end up the signing but when you look at his numbers, you can't really project him as and immediate starter over Havertz.

I'm very reluctant on Ekitike. (a) I'm not convinced we are actually interested. Orny specifically stated a couple weeks ago that he hadn't heard his name yet. (b) I am very iffy about Frankfurt STs. There are far too many examples of players that performed very well for Frankfurt, sold for a huge fee and then did nothing at their next stop.

Quote:

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We tried to sign Joan Garcia last year for high 20s, and that price will have only gone up. Espanyol might get relegated which would lower his release clause, but he is gonna be a hot commodity and there probably be a bidding war. I'd be shocked if he goes for less than 30m.

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I believe the relegation release clause may be just under 20m euro. And I agree that there might be a Spanish club or 3 that try to keep him in Spain.

Quote:

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Squad build next year will be interesting if the expected people leave. (Jorgi, Partey, Tierney, Kiwior, Zinny)

GK: Raya, 2nd GK (Garcia) or maybe Hein for a year

RB: Timber, White, Tomi
RCB: Saliba, Timber, White
LCB: Gabriel, Calafiori
LB: MLS, Cala
DM: Zubi, Rice
LCM: Rice, Havertz, MLS?
ACM: Odegaard, Nwaneri
RW: Saka, Nwaneri,
LW: Martinelli, Trossard
S: New CF, Havertz

Still think we need at least 2 more bodies in the midfield. We run a very demanding strategy to only have 5 guys there.

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- You forgot Merino. I would put him at LCM in place of Havertz and shift Havertz to RCM
- Think there is a high probability that Trossard is sold and replaced with a younger right-footed W that can push Marti for starting minutes.
- You left off Kiwior (which I agree with) but I think he needs to be replaced. The question is do we sign a legit CB to replace him or roll the dice with White, Timber, Cala & Tomi as CB backups and maybe add another LB with a different skillset that gives us more opportunities to use MLS in MF.
- If the price for Garcia gets too high, I would be going for a vet FA that buys us another year to prep our u21s or find the next GK flavor of the window.

A striker is the obvious need but Arsenal are also expected to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, while sources in Spain regard #AFC as the strong favourites to sign goalkeeper Joan Garcia from Espanyol. More transfer stuff in here:https://t.co/j4buMnmdTo

— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) March 31, 2025

COYG!

Wonder what happened to White.