3 points in the bag from our 4th hardest game left in the first half of the season

Crime and the perception of crime: @jburnmurdoch.ft.com via @stephenkb.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/9623...

Oh no not better quality beer and pizza!

Why do some have add-ons split out but some don’t?

Trossard seems much more likely I’d think?

Also you can probably put Madueke in as back up on LW too as his secondary position?

Or Zubi & Norgaard. In fact has Norgaard ever played at the back?

Disgusting to see another signing from Chelsea. Antena out

I am kind of baffled that Villa, Newcastle, Spurs didn’t pay up to make him the starter. Or simply that Chelsea didn’t keep him.

Am I mad to think Liverpool & Arsenal are the only two clubs he shouldn’t be starting most game at RW for in the PL?

@afc-soasv.bsky.social Hi, do you have anything big planned for the first home game of the season vs Leeds on 23rd August? I’m sure if you started a fundraiser you’d get a lot of support.

Always interested in these. Btw on contracts, Ødegaard has 3 years left (2028 expiry) so I wouldn’t say his is running down. Whereas Saka & Saliba are both 2027 as it stands.

I stole it from someone smarter tbh

I fear the opposite. That they’ve moved to charge now because he may go to play somewhere he can’t be extradited from

I was at this game. The bloke I was sitting next to, who had been to every England game home & away the last two years, left at 85 minutes.

10 minutes later Jude Bellingham scores an overhead kick equaliser, and I end up halfway down a stairwell.

Thanks James. Good piece. I really like Eze but think Martinelli is very underrated. The two of them would be a good combination for us.

Which brings me to a player unmentioned in the article: Trossard. If Eze (or Rodrygo) come in, does Trossard go? Any more in the Saudi links from last year?

Wait there they’re the throwback acts 😩

Jadon Sancho on loan it is

I agree with your point on Isak. But he costs half as much so we won’t need to pause on other signings to make it happen

If we get a striker (let’s say Sesko) as well as Zubimendi & Kepa done early (by mid- July) then I’d much rather wait for Rodrygo’s situation to sort itself out than get an inferior option.

Maybe it’s fairer to say that if we do sign Rodrygo, then between him & Zubimendi we’ll have signed the 2nd & 3rd best players moving to a PL club this summer (after Wirtz).

Rodrygo is in this kind of tier, and would make me very happy.

The season started earlier due to the winter World Cup in 2022 as well.

Jesus was a month before the season started. Zinchenko 2 weeks before. Equivalent of mid July & start of August this summer.

I think it’s quite calm anyway due to the Zubi reassurance from Ornstein etc.

Next Friday people will get antsy if no one in I reckon.

We already have two players in every position other than RCB though right?

I understand it from our side (if the deal is cheap given he has a year left) but makes no sense for the player at all.

It’s really surprising looking back he made only 10 starts in 23/24. Because he played in most of our winning run he felt much more integral

And it’ll be the right thing to do as well. The cycle will go:

- scores a few key goals off the bench in first couple of months
- clamour to start rises
- starts
- underwhelms
- back to bench role
- becomes very important down the stretch
- 2026/27 really competes to start from the off

You could easily have told me this was Neto or Grealish too

It’s so unlikely to happen but Alvarez would be great. Could play wide. Could play up top with Havertz to rest Ødegaard etc

All this but he’s still more productive in terms of goals and assists than Gordon (or Nico Williams or Garnacho or any Chelsea winger etc etc)

I think seen as an upgrade to *some* Arsenal fans would be more accurate. Maybe the most vocal ones

And still having the highest wagebill in Europe too