No it isn't - being left out of Pre Season training could affect his whole year ahead. Clubs should NOT be reacting to allegations.
Its not even being investigated is what I've heard. The Crown Court has dropped it. (I don't know this for sure though)
I just think the premise of innocent until proven guilty should take precedence. Otherwise you could just get anybody making an accusation and ****ing up somebody’s career and life. Cristiano Ronaldo had a rape allegation following him around for months, but he carried on playing and eventually the case was thrown out. He was never even charged with anything in the first place. Just an allegation like I say, if the situation changes and the player in question is charged, then the club should suspend him until the case is dealt with in court appreciate it’s a difficult one to balance though. The rights of the innocent/accused and the need to be seen to be taking action about it.
£30m is a decent fee. The other benefit of Zinchenko is that he can play as a #8 and at LB, so it kills two birds with one stone. And whilst I would still like us to get Tielemans, as he wants to join us and is a top player, at least it means we are less desperate and gives us more bargaining power in this position.
I know you weren't overwhelmed by this signing the other day. But I think he will be a really solid addition to our squad and I think he'll play a lot of games. He's proven quality at City and he will instantly improve our team. To be honest, I'm happier with this signing that I am Lisandro Martinez, who whilst looks a good player was another £15m and is unproven in the prem Arteta and Edu have done good here. I'd also like to see us go and get Tielemans now, because I think he is a little artist in MF, and with him sitting just behind Odergaard, it will double the creative output in the middle of the park. All the signs look like Tielemans has agreed personal terms with Arsenal, apparently that happened months ago ? He seems to be 99% sure to leave Lesta, so we just need to go and get it done.
I think Zinchenko is a decent and very useful player, but my concern wasn’t really with this particular signing; my concern was that our strategy was signing City’s fringe players due to the Arteta link. Obviously, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because City’s cast-offs would get into most teams starting 11s. But I just wanted to make sure we had a more detailed approach to signings. Agree about Martinez though - Man Utd will be paying €55m with a further €10m in add-ons for him. Zinchenko is cheaper, Prem proven and won lots of titles in England so know what it takes. RE Tielemans - apparently we cooled interest in him? Not sure why as he seemed keen to join from what reports were saying. I’m not sure if we’ll still sign him now that we signed Zinchenko (who can play in that position), but obviously, I hope we still do sign him.
Bringing in players that work is the key here. As you said, it's not always about big names, it's about getting players know their role and work as a unit. Arteta looks every bit like he's made in the Pep mould, so having that link with City players can only be a good thing for us imo Tielemans would be a brilliant creative engine to add to our midfield.
Which means the man knows them on a personal basis and has seen them train/play day in day out. Can only be a good thing
I might be wrong but I feel like its because Arteta is looking to move to a 4-3-3 so he wants a LCM. Someone like Paqueta would do that role better. Tielemans would be more like a straight up Xhaka replacement.
Another goal for Gabriel Jesus in PreSeason. Three goals in Two games he's looking sharp. Saliba also started the game vs Everton (ahead of White)
I also thought Reuell Walters looked very good when he came on - composed, good technically and wasn’t phased by being with the first teamers. He’s only 17 as well. I watched the game against Everton at midnight and I thought in the first half, we looked very sharp and dominant. Second half, we were OK but as we made changes, you could see the level dipped slightly. I think it’s clear which players need to be gone this window (Pepe, Mari, Bellerin, Nelson…).
Yeah there was a clear difference in quality with the players one the pitch in the second half. Honestly, Pepe looked awful when he came on, he's soo lethargic. I love Elneny as a character but also think he's technically not of the required standard. I would ship out Maitland Niles, Elneny, Pepe, Leno, and Cedric and/or Bellerin. Also a loan for Tavares would be smart.
Given that we just gave Elneny a one-year extension, I don't see us selling him this Summer unless a very respectable bid came in. Pepe needs to go, but his wages are a big stumbling block. Leno has apparently agreed a move in principle to join Fulham, but they don't want to meet our asking price. So we need to see how that goes. And yeah, Cedric and Bellerin both need to go, but again, wages are a big issue for the level of clubs interested in them. Bellerin took an 80% pay cut to join Betis last season. I know he wants to go back, but it won't happen unless Betis are willing to pay what he's looking for or he's willing to take a pay cut to join them permanently. Pablo Mari is a player we also need to get rid of. He's just not at the required level and isn't capable of playing a high line. Bizarre signing.
Being linked to Leroy Sane. This is probably just lazy journalism linking another Ex - Pep player but you have to say.... -----Sane----------------Jesus----------------Saka----- --------Paqueta---------Partey--------Odegaard------ Zinchenko------Gabriel-------Saliba-------Tomiyasu ---------------------------Ramsdale------------------------- Bench: Martinelli, Xhaka, White, Tierney, Viera, Marquinhos, Nketiah, Turner. That's a solid team!
Just read Arteta’s comments that Tierney is injured again…sigh. This is becoming a huge issue now. I honestly love KT so much and he is top class when he’s fit, but statistically, he’s missed 50% of our games since joining….50%. He’s simply not dependable/reliable enough fitness wise. If he has another season which is injury-plagued, I think we need to look at selling him next Summer.
Was trawling a Man City forum and they seem quite gutted Zinchenko is leaving: https://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/...-with-arsenal-£30m-£2m-pg-206.335266/page-157 hopefully it’s for good reason and that we get a top player who can help us achieve our goals.
Zinchenko is a smart signing. As for Arteta plucking players from his former employers, we did exactly the same with Bentancur and Kulusevski and that worked out just fine. Can't be a modus operandi but can work wonders if it's a couple of players here or there. One thing that struck me as odd about Arteta's comments on Tierney is that he seemed to question his ability to keep up with the training levels necessary for the PL. What did he mean by that as that hints to a deeper problem than a player who is simply injury prone?
What comments were these? The only ones I saw about Tierney in the last couple days was this: “We have Kieran [Tierney] with a slight problem, we have Emile [Smith Rowe] with a muscular niggle, Tomiyasu as well and Ben [White]. Vieira has a slight problem in his bone, hopefully he will start to train in the next week or so.” I’m not aware of any other comments he made regarding Tierney’s ability to keep up with the pace of the Prem.
Pep confirming that Zinchenko has gone. Just waiting for official announcement at this point. I wonder if he’ll be presented to the crowds in Orlando.
