Completely with you Charles, absolutely gutted smith rowe is leaving when he come into the team for that Chelsea game then to the rest of the season he was brilliant then to give him the number 10 I thought he would become a pivotal part of the squad! Wishing him all the best! I hope we get a buy back option!
I am gutted about Emile, what a player and what a feel good factor he brought into the club at such a miserable moment in our recent history. But he needs to play, he will play and hopefully is made a big part of that Fulham side. Thank you Emile 👊🏼
Last match (ESR) played after such a long lay off due to injury collected MOTM.. agree wholeheartedly with you on this one..will be a sad day when he leaves but will always be considered a true Gooner
I am 100% with you on the emotions relating to ESR. He will always be one of my favorite Arsenal players of all time. Hating to see him go...I feel we failed him 😢.
Gutted about ESR - so much ability and I pray he goes on to do absolute solid bits (and fingers-crossed we buy back in a couple seasons when he shows the consistency to be the World Beater we know he can be) What other dealings are picking up pace for players leaving? I remember Edu saying in an interview that we don’t tend to focus on individual transfer targets at a time but it always seems to work in this way in focusing on one at a time🙏🏾💗🙌🏾
Charles you are what makes this Arsenal community so special, dedicated working professionals like yourself. Consistently delivering incredible content
I can only assume that they don't trust ESR to stay fit because he's got so much quality playing in any system. We have so many games to play, I think he's sadly another victim of Arteta's reluctance to rotate the first team players. Nwaneri looks like a perfect Odegaard backup to allow him to rest in some of the lesser competitions and come off with 10-20 mins to go in games. Martin does so much work and an injury to him would be gutting for the system.
My smith rowe moment is probably when he gives the ball to Tierney on the run, and one can here Tierney, who hasbin begging for the ball on the run for months, go, "YEEES! go smithie go!
Ødegaard...holy cow. Looked like he was in the zone immediately. Like he was playing a match 3/4 of the way through the season. He just makes everyone around him look a little better by proxy because they knew where to be when one of his surprise passes ends up at their feet. Not gonna be fun seeing ESR in a different shirt but hopefully it all works out for him and he can stay healthy and get back to his best.
Nice price for ESR…wish him the best…I agree with you Charles, it would have been brilliant if he would have claimed a first team spot…lots of rust on the team which is why you play preseason games…can’t wait for the season!
Watching us sell ESR because we are building a squad good enough to fight for the league feels like the Thanos/Gamora meme - What did it cost? Everything. Gonna go curl up into a ball and watch ESR score against Spurs on a loop until the pain goes away
As someone that goes to Borehamwood to watch the youth regularly it feels so good to have our constant praise of the youngsters validated. Impressive to think that our team half made up of youngsters in their 2nd or 3rd game of pre-season (if you count Orient and the youth friendlies) was able to go toe to toe with the Bournemouth first team who have another full pre-season game under their belt. Really bodes well for the season ahead
Hey Charles, my mate is working at Arsenals training ground and he's been told this morning that Smith Rowe could be off to Villa. If they get the 60 million from Saudi for Diaby then they will outbid Fulham. Emery loves ESR so I can see it happening
Sad to see ESR continue his journey elsewhere, but agree with his thinking. I agree with your analysis, apart form Lewis Skelly, who looked as good or better than Zinny, he looks a real prospect at left back. His use of the ball was positive and I am sure that if we have the courage to play him in a run of games he will be first choice there. He has work to do (physically and a few fine points) but he is good enough. Nwaneri had a constructive game, neither did he look out of place nor did he rip up trees. I would like to see him play with a bit more freedom I am sure he will express himself better as he becomes more used to the level he needs to play at. Heaven, what a good prospect he is! he needs a loan to a good club for a year and then he is in the squad. Reiss and vieria did well. The keeper seemed good. For a preseason game we are doing well and showing progress.
If I'm not mistaken, it's Unai Emery that promoted ESR and not Arteta. I'm intrigued to see if Arteta will promote any academy players for the first time. Thank you Charles.
Hello @CharlesWatts, so excited to see the Arsenal back in a fairly competitive game. It had two main rare points for me. First of all the first time in a long while I've seen any Arsenal player attempt a direct free kick which came from Odegaard's effort on target in the second half. A rare sight since, we hardly ever attempt those and always go for an indirect kick. Also I haven't seen Arteta drop a player due to a potential transfer unless you count Big Gabi's exclusion at the start if last season. I'll miss ESR if he goes and feel the same way as you, him and Saka are the embodiment of Arteta's rise to a top level manager.
35m is fair tbh. If he wasn't so injury prone he'd be worth 60m. Fulham are getting a great player and i hope he becomes a legend for them. Im looking forward to smiling when we play Fulham and our fans sing the Saka and Emile Smith Rowe song 😊. We have to sell to buy so any player that isn't a nailed on starter in big games is available at a price. PS I feel the same as you Charles.
If you leave arsenal then this is the way to do it with EVERYONES blessing and all of us hoping he goes on to do great things. Zero animosity from any side we ALL want ESR to go on and do great things.
It's not Smith Rowe that hasn't moved on but Arteta that has held him back. Smith Rowe started one league game in the second half of the season and got the MOTM award. If Saka had been treated the same way we'd be selling him for a (relatively) low fee now
Charles, like you I'm absolutely gutted to hear that Emile is on his way out of The Arsenal. He's been at the club for years, since he was a boy so us older supporters who have seen him develop through the system, have more of an attachment to someone like him.
From end of last season, mikel and edu confirmed that all was set and areas that need strengthening were already highlighted, why then are deals taking long to get done
Gonna be so so sad to see ESR leaving Arsenal, he almost score when he plays during his last 3 or 4 matches. Hopefully Arsenal inserted a buy back clause in the deal… 😢
I watched the game here in Canada (2030 MT), and your analysis is spot-on. That was exactly how I saw the game. Nwaneri was good on the ball. You could see his football intelligence. Just needs to build up a bit.
Hi Charles, great video as usual! Do you know if the ESR deal will have a sell on clause included or any other clauses such as matching rights? Many thanks.
Hi Charles, Always enjoy listening to your show even when there’s not a lot going on you manage to find entertaining topics to discuss. I’m not sure about your regular use of number 6 to describe Rice, or any other more defensively minded midfielder, however. Yes no. 8 when they are much more advanced, absolutely as in our captain. But traditionally the more solid, defensive shield at Arsenal has always been no. 4. Think Storey, Talbot, Richardson, Mickey Thomas, Davis, Vieira and Fabregas. Although Cesc was probably several midfielders in one he was still box to box and sat deep when we were under it. Tony Adams was 6 for heavens sake! Russell.
Charles and Benjani, is the number10 shirt at Arsenal cursed? Gallas’ meltdown at St Andrews, RVP’s mercenary betrayal, Wilshere’s injury prone career, Ozil’s fall off after playing magnificently with the number 11 before switching, and now ESR’s departure. Should we just leave that shirt vacant for a while?
I think the ESR deal to Fulham would be a win-win for all parties. Would be very sad to see ESR move on, but he's no longer a youngster and needs to be playing regularly. The fee is quite a good one. And he gets to stay in London. Fulham get a good player, with clear talent, who can still improve.
I feel for ESR and it's one of the only things that I don't agree with Arteta about. I feel for the way he was treated as I really think Arteta never gave him enough of a chance after making his way back from the surgery. He did well at the Euro under 21's last summer and looked generally good when he was used this season (although be it rarely) including a MOTM in one of his only starts. We keep saying Arteta will need to start rotating more with our fixture lists but we are still yet to see it and his substitutions always seem to come quite late on. Overly reliant on his favourite 11 and doesn't leave much room for fringe players to prove themselves in my opinion. Can't believe we will be left with Vieira but not ESR next season (I know financially it's the right thing to do!). Always try and catch your show CW. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Yeah makes sense though, they've got homes in London and families going to school and have employment in London so they don't have to uproot their family life by going. Would be cool if we had more talent to pick from Fulham as a feeder club to Arsenal, I'm sure we'd have more favourable deals seeing as we let great players (besides Willian) going to Fulham on a discount.
£35mil feels low but it’s not. 2 years ago we would have gotten £9ml. It goes to show that our success raises the squad value and enables us to negotiate better fees. There’s more work to be done but we are trending in the right direction. All of the deals this summer have shown that.
Charles, the ESR Chelsea game that you keep going back to, is 5 years, this December. We cant keep on thinking about the past, at least not so far back.
Extra Time Thanks for featuring my comment in the early show. I’m sure this is a common question now, but with Calafiori pretty much secured, where do we go transfer wise now?
I'll be watching more Fulham games, rate the player very highly. Should've gone to serie A or la liga where the game is slower and more technical which would suit his style better. Hopes he comes to Jamaica. Best of career Emile.
Sir Watts and Benjigga There’s a good chance we can get Mikel Merino, ESR leaves and possibly Nketiah and more outgoing, I think it’s very possible we can trigger the Nico William release clause, but the difficult thing would be to convince him to come and the wages. If merino signs, that’s Raya and two Mikel’s, we just need to beat the Barca PR. It’s also possible Nico stays at Bilbao another season
I am watching this rn with so much joy and pain at the same time, happy to have Calafiori, sad ESR is leaving and then sadder I might not be here long enough to watch the 2024/2025 season. But all the same, I am happy with my team and the job Arteta is doing. Great Job Charles, you are doing a super fantastic job
Hi Charles! What’s the update on VAR and its usage for the next season? I’m hoping the PGMOL have taken some learnings from the recently concluded Euros!
Damn that slide you have of the Arsenal squad against Bournemouth makes me sad, Reiss is the only one that's happy to be in the squad and represent Arsenal. I wish we could have given him more time to make an impact off the bench or something.
Hi Charles, love the content. In my opinion we should keep Partey for his last year, a fit Thomas is a top 5 DM in the PL. We should also train Timber to take over that role, he seems a bright kid with a good football mind, plus he has all the attributes needed, what are your thoughts on this?
Im honestly not to choked up on esr leaving. Its been so long since he was last relied on inthis team and we have improved so much since then. Just feel like he has been outgrown and i feel like if he ends up staying he'd be another amn type situation where we rejected something like 30 mil for him as we wanted to use him but he ends up leaving on a free a couple years later. Its esr's time simple put.
Kai Hein reminds me of Martinez, Some errors when at this age but look at him today.Kai is good with his feet yesterday more than he was last season, I see him becoming great if he is in a good hand like Arteta
ESR will be the Cole Palmer of the 24/25 season. Palmer wasn't playing much at City blossomed given proper playing time even in Chelsea's chaos. ESR will get back on track at Fulham. He'll be a star. Our solace is that City still won the league last year without Palmer, so you don't see many City fans whining about Palmer leaving. The other solace will be seeing Saka and ESR link up again once Emile starts getting England call-ups.
Extra-Time Good day chaps. I hope that ESR's minutes gets absorbed by Ethan, it wouldn't make sense to spend when the talent is in house. The finances would be served better looking for a nr6 for the season, or next season, with the situations of Partey and Jorgi. Gutted for ESR to leave, but understandable. Cheers, Brendan from South Africa.
#extratime Today's game just showed how vital it was to keep Hein. I don't see him breaking into our 11 tbh. With the planned loan and the long-term contract he could really turn into a 10-20 mio sale
#Extratime Hi Charles and Benge! Couldn’t help but notice that against Bournemouth, Vieria was once again playing out wide. Arteta last started Vieria at 8 on game day 7 last season (when he was taken off at halftime vs Spurs). As an observation, I thought of the two attacking wide players Nelson was much the greater threat. - And while Vieria contributed a decent, though deflected finish and a good interception late on, he was kind of anonymous for much of the game. Has Arteta made up his mind re Vieria playing on the interior? And should we be concerned that with so many other options- Saka, Jesus, Martinelli, Trossard, etc, that outwide would not be the ideal platform, or provide enough minutes for Vieria to change Arteta’s perceptions?
Hie Charles, No offense, but this emotional attachment to ESR is because he is British. It's almost always the Brits "disappointed" about his pending move. I like the lad, l think he has (notice l didn't say HAD...) huge potential & might as well realise that potential at Fullham. Having said that, it was obvious that he had to move. #Nketiah in a way is facing the same dilemma. As talented as they are, Arsenal as a club have evolved..... Fabio is another player that might fall victim to the same. He probably has one more season to showcase his immense talent, but l bet if he does leave, British media isn't going to be making such a fuss. Always enjoy the show. (I am one of those who downloads the show & and watches (more like listen) as l drive around and work kikiki)
Hi Charles. 100% with you on ESR. But im making my peace because i believe at the end if the day, as talented as he is i just dont think he has the football brain needed for an Arteta team. Unfortunately, skill just isnt enough and i feel an element of intelligence was lacking. Not nice to say but there we go. Arteta is looking for 11 players to move, change and adapt as if its one living breathing organism. I dont think ESR ever fully understood that the same way other players in the squad do. I also think Vieria is struggling with this concept as well. 35m is also a very very good deal considering his game time. Adios Emile the good times were certainly great.
Hi Charles, Karl Hein seems to be a really top prospect . Did he not also save penalties in last season's US tour? He bould be a real asset in shoot-outs. Thanks for the reat content
#extratime, what’s your opinions on Timber or White playing as the 6? Feel like that could be a good option, comfortable on the ball, defensively solid will then can split and drop into a back three to allow fluid shape.
Hi Charles and James, do you think ESR departing is a real natural way to integrate nwaneri into this first team? Buying someone like merino makes sense but I don't think looking for a direct ESR replacement makes any sense at all
Solanke bullied Heaven (as expected) his first touch + speed of thought isn't there yet too. He still has a lot of work to do. Skelly looked good until I think it was Outtara came on. Nwaneri had moments in the first half and also did make some clever runs. I don't think any of the kids who came on in the second half had a good game but some of them looked very very young. It's Segoe Jr and Rekic who disappointed me the most. I was mostly impressed by Salah but at the end of the day this is only the first preseason game. I don't think any of the youngsters, really stood out to the point where I would be confident in them starting a game or even coming on to salvage one like Nelson, ESR or Nketiah did for us. You could tell there is still a huge gap but being around the 1st team players will help.
#Extratime Question to Charles and James. We all know Arsenal highly rate and want Nico Williams. Anything can happen but as things stand right now, it seems like Barcelona are leading the race. If Arsenal should start to look at alternatives for a winger signing, who would your ideal signing be besides Nico Williams? Personally for me Adeyemi from Dortmund seems raw but he has lots of potential left and ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to recruitment. Young, experienced, covering multiple positions(which actually is what TNAT said on the mystery German). He is out there on the market for a fair reasonable price and i can't see why Arsenal aren't being linked with Adeyemi.
Juve is on his tail and I can't stomach the fact that they have already taken Douglas Luiz who we should have gone for. My reservation with Adeyemi is his goal record. 5 last season and 8 the season before that. If we are bringing in a winger, but no No 9, it should be a goal scoring winger.
Hey Charles, did you see the two training videos? Pumping iron big time in one video, young players looking fast and sharp in the other. We'll be running rings around City and bullying Newcastle off the pitch next season!
Hey Charles! Like you, I am very emotional about ESR leaving, especially with memories of how as a young kids he and Saka carried the weight of an underperforming team and dragged us back. I still cannot believe how he is not a left-sided 8 option. Obviously Arteta knows what he is doing, but still ... The transfer fee feels quite low given what other players (of unknown caiber) in the 'PSR friendly transfers' amongst other clubs are being tossed around for. Do you think Merino is actually a better option than ESR? Why not someone like an Eze or an Olmo?
Why lose ESR when you also have Vieira on the bench? Surely the better move is to move on Fabio and ensure some minutes to ESR. Disappointed is an understatement.share your sentiments on that Chelsea game too.
Extra time Q: I’m really excited by the potential incomings this transfer window. But I hope Arsenal can get in a winger to give Saka competition and the cover he needs this season in order for him to play at his best. If there was one winger you could buy right now that can play on the right, who would it be?
I am also dissapointed, i loved this boy so much. I hope arsenal will now turn its attention to a real striker. Defendsrs appear to all good for rotation.
#extratime Hi Charles/ James , With all the talk of Calafiori coming in and one of the two Kiwior /Zinchenko going out , My opinion is that we keep Zinchenko and let Kiwior leave ( for good price ). Calafiori would restrict his gametime and in Zinchenko we have someone unique who can play and be a deep left sided playmaker , which would give us an extra dimension in matches where we might have most of the ball . Would love to know your thoughts on it .
Extra time: Hi Charles and Benge! In the last 24 hours rumours of Chiesa has resurfaced. Juventus probably hates us for getting Calafiori 😎💪 But from what I’ve heard they are interested in Kiwior. Since we saw them doing a swap deal + difference for Douglas Luiz, do you reckon the same might happen in a deal for Chiesa-Kiwior?
Extra Time: With ESR’s departure seemingly imminent, what’s your favourite moment of his in an Arsenal shirt? For me it was Spurs at home when we blitzed them in the first half at the emirates. The stadium was absolutely on fire that day.
Smith Rowe was just a joy to watch. He is so smooth how can you not like him. I really hope that he goes to Fulham and absolutely smashes it!
Completely with you Charles, absolutely gutted smith rowe is leaving when he come into the team for that Chelsea game then to the rest of the season he was brilliant then to give him the number 10 I thought he would become a pivotal part of the squad! Wishing him all the best! I hope we get a buy back option!
I am gutted about Emile, what a player and what a feel good factor he brought into the club at such a miserable moment in our recent history. But he needs to play, he will play and hopefully is made a big part of that Fulham side. Thank you Emile 👊🏼
Last match (ESR) played after such a long lay off due to injury collected MOTM.. agree wholeheartedly with you on this one..will be a sad day when he leaves but will always be considered a true Gooner
I am 100% with you on the emotions relating to ESR. He will always be one of my favorite Arsenal players of all time. Hating to see him go...I feel we failed him 😢.
Gutted about ESR - so much ability and I pray he goes on to do absolute solid bits (and fingers-crossed we buy back in a couple seasons when he shows the consistency to be the World Beater we know he can be)
What other dealings are picking up pace for players leaving?
I remember Edu saying in an interview that we don’t tend to focus on individual transfer targets at a time but it always seems to work in this way in focusing on one at a time🙏🏾💗🙌🏾
Charles you are what makes this Arsenal community so special, dedicated working professionals like yourself. Consistently delivering incredible content
Haha he's a yes man
@@jamiebyrne3416 ??
I can only assume that they don't trust ESR to stay fit because he's got so much quality playing in any system. We have so many games to play, I think he's sadly another victim of Arteta's reluctance to rotate the first team players.
Nwaneri looks like a perfect Odegaard backup to allow him to rest in some of the lesser competitions and come off with 10-20 mins to go in games. Martin does so much work and an injury to him would be gutting for the system.
My smith rowe moment is probably when he gives the ball to Tierney on the run, and one can here Tierney, who hasbin begging for the ball on the run for months, go, "YEEES! go smithie go!
Ødegaard...holy cow. Looked like he was in the zone immediately. Like he was playing a match 3/4 of the way through the season. He just makes everyone around him look a little better by proxy because they knew where to be when one of his surprise passes ends up at their feet. Not gonna be fun seeing ESR in a different shirt but hopefully it all works out for him and he can stay healthy and get back to his best.
Best playmaker over the last 2 seasons in world football, no hype, good engine, no luxury.
Nice price for ESR…wish him the best…I agree with you Charles, it would have been brilliant if he would have claimed a first team spot…lots of rust on the team which is why you play preseason games…can’t wait for the season!
Watching us sell ESR because we are building a squad good enough to fight for the league feels like the Thanos/Gamora meme - What did it cost? Everything.
Gonna go curl up into a ball and watch ESR score against Spurs on a loop until the pain goes away
You and me both. Really , I will miss him
As someone that goes to Borehamwood to watch the youth regularly it feels so good to have our constant praise of the youngsters validated.
Impressive to think that our team half made up of youngsters in their 2nd or 3rd game of pre-season (if you count Orient and the youth friendlies) was able to go toe to toe with the Bournemouth first team who have another full pre-season game under their belt.
Really bodes well for the season ahead
Saka and Emile Smith Roooowe ❤
I feel the same about ESR, that chelsea game is the turning point for me. But i think you are right that it's for the best
Hey Charles, my mate is working at Arsenals training ground and he's been told this morning that Smith Rowe could be off to Villa. If they get the 60 million from Saudi for Diaby then they will outbid Fulham. Emery loves ESR so I can see it happening
Love the show Charles. Agree with you on heartbreak over ESR.
I just hope Arsenal has negotiated a good sell-on clause or even a buy-back clause in the Smith-Rowe deal.
No chance we get that fee and a Buy back or Sell on.. it’s a good deal to get £35 mill
Who buys back players these days 😂
Sad to see ESR continue his journey elsewhere, but agree with his thinking. I agree with your analysis, apart form Lewis Skelly, who looked as good or better than Zinny, he looks a real prospect at left back. His use of the ball was positive and I am sure that if we have the courage to play him in a run of games he will be first choice there. He has work to do (physically and a few fine points) but he is good enough. Nwaneri had a constructive game, neither did he look out of place nor did he rip up trees. I would like to see him play with a bit more freedom I am sure he will express himself better as he becomes more used to the level he needs to play at. Heaven, what a good prospect he is! he needs a loan to a good club for a year and then he is in the squad. Reiss and vieria did well. The keeper seemed good. For a preseason game we are doing well and showing progress.
Agreed with what ur saying about smith rowe. Talented . He will shine at Fulham for sure.
ESR and Saka - Hale Enders tearing down Spurs and other teams expressing the future of Arsenal few seasons ago
If I'm not mistaken, it's Unai Emery that promoted ESR and not Arteta. I'm intrigued to see if Arteta will promote any academy players for the first time. Thank you Charles.
Hello @CharlesWatts, so excited to see the Arsenal back in a fairly competitive game. It had two main rare points for me. First of all the first time in a long while I've seen any Arsenal player attempt a direct free kick which came from Odegaard's effort on target in the second half. A rare sight since, we hardly ever attempt those and always go for an indirect kick. Also I haven't seen Arteta drop a player due to a potential transfer unless you count Big Gabi's exclusion at the start if last season. I'll miss ESR if he goes and feel the same way as you, him and Saka are the embodiment of Arteta's rise to a top level manager.
35m is fair tbh. If he wasn't so injury prone he'd be worth 60m. Fulham are getting a great player and i hope he becomes a legend for them. Im looking forward to smiling when we play Fulham and our fans sing the Saka and Emile Smith Rowe song 😊. We have to sell to buy so any player that isn't a nailed on starter in big games is available at a price.
PS I feel the same as you Charles.
Best statement. We can't just keep signing players
If you leave arsenal then this is the way to do it with EVERYONES blessing and all of us hoping he goes on to do great things. Zero animosity from any side we ALL want ESR to go on and do great things.
Its so funny I can't believe I stayed up too 😂 We looked different!! Fresher and more attacking play. New guys did brilliantly
The Rekk kid had a mare, but I enjoy the game nonetheless. Sad to see ESR go but this is the ruthlessness we asked for from the club
It's not Smith Rowe that hasn't moved on but Arteta that has held him back. Smith Rowe started one league game in the second half of the season and got the MOTM award.
If Saka had been treated the same way we'd be selling him for a (relatively) low fee now
Injuries held him back and nothing more.
Charles, like you I'm absolutely gutted to hear that Emile is on his way out of The Arsenal. He's been at the club for years, since he was a boy so us older supporters who have seen him develop through the system, have more of an attachment to someone like him.
From end of last season, mikel and edu confirmed that all was set and areas that need strengthening were already highlighted, why then are deals taking long to get done
Gonna be so so sad to see ESR leaving Arsenal, he almost score when he plays during his last 3 or 4 matches. Hopefully Arsenal inserted a buy back clause in the deal… 😢
I watched the game here in Canada (2030 MT), and your analysis is spot-on. That was exactly how I saw the game. Nwaneri was good on the ball. You could see his football intelligence. Just needs to build up a bit.
I'm so upset about ESR, I hope we put in a buy back price
Hi Charles, great video as usual! Do you know if the ESR deal will have a sell on clause included or any other clauses such as matching rights? Many thanks.
Well said Charles, re ESR .. I feel exactly the same.. what a player, so Arsenal, and so sad the way it unfolded with his injuries... ⚽🙏🏼 ~
Yes, hopefully there will be a good buy-back clause.
Hi Charles, Always enjoy listening to your show even when there’s not a lot going on you manage to find entertaining topics to discuss. I’m not sure about your regular use of number 6 to describe Rice, or any other more defensively minded midfielder, however. Yes no. 8 when they are much more advanced, absolutely as in our captain. But traditionally the more solid, defensive shield at Arsenal has always been no. 4. Think Storey, Talbot, Richardson, Mickey Thomas, Davis, Vieira and Fabregas. Although Cesc was probably several midfielders in one he was still box to box and sat deep when we were under it. Tony Adams was 6 for heavens sake! Russell.
Charles and Benjani, is the number10 shirt at Arsenal cursed? Gallas’ meltdown at St Andrews, RVP’s mercenary betrayal, Wilshere’s injury prone career, Ozil’s fall off after playing magnificently with the number 11 before switching, and now ESR’s departure. Should we just leave that shirt vacant for a while?
I think the ESR deal to Fulham would be a win-win for all parties. Would be very sad to see ESR move on, but he's no longer a youngster and needs to be playing regularly. The fee is quite a good one. And he gets to stay in London. Fulham get a good player, with clear talent, who can still improve.
ESR the right thing for the club and the player…always be a favourite at the Emirates ❤
I feel for ESR and it's one of the only things that I don't agree with Arteta about. I feel for the way he was treated as I really think Arteta never gave him enough of a chance after making his way back from the surgery. He did well at the Euro under 21's last summer and looked generally good when he was used this season (although be it rarely) including a MOTM in one of his only starts. We keep saying Arteta will need to start rotating more with our fixture lists but we are still yet to see it and his substitutions always seem to come quite late on. Overly reliant on his favourite 11 and doesn't leave much room for fringe players to prove themselves in my opinion. Can't believe we will be left with Vieira but not ESR next season (I know financially it's the right thing to do!).
Always try and catch your show CW. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I remember Watts was always on ESR case. He was the one that made me aware of him. Sad to see ESR leave.
Fulham loves Arsenal players
Willian, Iwobi, Leno and now ESR
Yeah makes sense though, they've got homes in London and families going to school and have employment in London so they don't have to uproot their family life by going. Would be cool if we had more talent to pick from Fulham as a feeder club to Arsenal, I'm sure we'd have more favourable deals seeing as we let great players (besides Willian) going to Fulham on a discount.
£35mil feels low but it’s not.
2 years ago we would have gotten £9ml.
It goes to show that our success raises the squad value and enables us to negotiate better fees. There’s more work to be done but we are trending in the right direction. All of the deals this summer have shown that.
Charles, the ESR Chelsea game that you keep going back to, is 5 years, this December.
We cant keep on thinking about the past, at least not so far back.
The Blonde Bommber departs its another Rocky,Gnabry moment for me.
Extra Time
Thanks for featuring my comment in the early show. I’m sure this is a common question now, but with Calafiori pretty much secured, where do we go transfer wise now?
Calefiori, Merino, Eze? 😍 PLEASE PLEASE
And late bid for Neto, especially if Nico looks like he's heading to Barca - which it looks like he is 🤷🏼♂️
I'll be watching more Fulham games, rate the player very highly. Should've gone to serie A or la liga where the game is slower and more technical which would suit his style better. Hopes he comes to Jamaica. Best of career Emile.
Sir Watts and Benjigga
There’s a good chance we can get Mikel Merino, ESR leaves and possibly Nketiah and more outgoing, I think it’s very possible we can trigger the Nico William release clause, but the difficult thing would be to convince him to come and the wages. If merino signs, that’s Raya and two Mikel’s, we just need to beat the Barca PR. It’s also possible Nico stays at Bilbao another season
Really hope he does well at Fulham, a Really nice lad sorry to lose him.
I am watching this rn with so much joy and pain at the same time, happy to have Calafiori, sad ESR is leaving and then sadder I might not be here long enough to watch the 2024/2025 season. But all the same, I am happy with my team and the job Arteta is doing. Great Job Charles, you are doing a super fantastic job
Wow. Wishing you all the best!
@@merijn1902 thank you
Where are you going 😢
@@tumusantrina2055 mental health issue
Hi Charles! What’s the update on VAR and its usage for the next season? I’m hoping the PGMOL have taken some learnings from the recently concluded Euros!
We better have some sort of buy-back clause inserted into his contract. Hate to see ESR go.
Damn that slide you have of the Arsenal squad against Bournemouth makes me sad, Reiss is the only one that's happy to be in the squad and represent Arsenal. I wish we could have given him more time to make an impact off the bench or something.
Hein is a proper Gk he needs to be put in the first team👋👋
Hi Charles, love the content. In my opinion we should keep Partey for his last year, a fit Thomas is a top 5 DM in the PL. We should also train Timber to take over that role, he seems a bright kid with a good football mind, plus he has all the attributes needed, what are your thoughts on this?
Best of luck to ESR!
Im honestly not to choked up on esr leaving. Its been so long since he was last relied on inthis team and we have improved so much since then.
Just feel like he has been outgrown and i feel like if he ends up staying he'd be another amn type situation where we rejected something like 30 mil for him as we wanted to use him but he ends up leaving on a free a couple years later.
Its esr's time simple put.
Kai Hein reminds me of Martinez, Some errors when at this age but look at him today.Kai is good with his feet yesterday more than he was last season, I see him becoming great if he is in a good hand like Arteta
ESR will be the Cole Palmer of the 24/25 season. Palmer wasn't playing much at City blossomed given proper playing time even in Chelsea's chaos. ESR will get back on track at Fulham. He'll be a star. Our solace is that City still won the league last year without Palmer, so you don't see many City fans whining about Palmer leaving. The other solace will be seeing Saka and ESR link up again once Emile starts getting England call-ups.
Extra-Time
Good day chaps.
I hope that ESR's minutes gets absorbed by Ethan, it wouldn't make sense to spend when the talent is in house. The finances would be served better looking for a nr6 for the season, or next season, with the situations of Partey and Jorgi.
Gutted for ESR to leave, but understandable.
Cheers, Brendan from South Africa.
#extratime Today's game just showed how vital it was to keep Hein. I don't see him breaking into our 11 tbh. With the planned loan and the long-term contract he could really turn into a 10-20 mio sale
If ESR is worth 35 million, Eddie has to be worth 50!
#Extratime Hi Charles and Benge! Couldn’t help but notice that against Bournemouth, Vieria was once again playing out wide.
Arteta last started Vieria at 8 on game day 7 last season (when he was taken off at halftime vs Spurs).
As an observation, I thought of the two attacking wide players Nelson was much the greater threat. - And while Vieria contributed a decent, though deflected finish and a good interception late on, he was kind of anonymous for much of the game.
Has Arteta made up his mind re Vieria playing on the interior? And should we be concerned that with so many other options- Saka, Jesus, Martinelli, Trossard, etc, that outwide would not be the ideal platform, or provide enough minutes for Vieria to change Arteta’s perceptions?
HIGH WATTAGE ⚡⚡⚡
Hi Charlies ,Thanks for content have a great day everyone 👍
Hie Charles,
No offense, but this emotional attachment to ESR is because he is British. It's almost always the Brits "disappointed" about his pending move.
I like the lad, l think he has (notice l didn't say HAD...) huge potential & might as well realise that potential at Fullham. Having said that, it was obvious that he had to move. #Nketiah in a way is facing the same dilemma. As talented as they are, Arsenal as a club have evolved..... Fabio is another player that might fall victim to the same. He probably has one more season to showcase his immense talent, but l bet if he does leave, British media isn't going to be making such a fuss.
Always enjoy the show. (I am one of those who downloads the show & and watches (more like listen) as l drive around and work kikiki)
Hi Charles. 100% with you on ESR. But im making my peace because i believe at the end if the day, as talented as he is i just dont think he has the football brain needed for an Arteta team. Unfortunately, skill just isnt enough and i feel an element of intelligence was lacking. Not nice to say but there we go. Arteta is looking for 11 players to move, change and adapt as if its one living breathing organism. I dont think ESR ever fully understood that the same way other players in the squad do. I also think Vieria is struggling with this concept as well. 35m is also a very very good deal considering his game time. Adios Emile the good times were certainly great.
ESR leaving will make Arsenal better...good luck at Fulham. He is a well respected player and will always be loved by Arsenal fans (those that know)❤
Hi Charles, Karl Hein seems to be a really top prospect . Did he not also save penalties in last season's US tour? He bould be a real asset in shoot-outs. Thanks for the reat content
#extratime, what’s your opinions on Timber or White playing as the 6?
Feel like that could be a good option, comfortable on the ball, defensively solid will then can split and drop into a back three to allow fluid shape.
Goated Odegaard is about to make a go crazy next season
“CALAFIORI .. passes out to Partey x2”💃🏽🕺🏽
Hi Charles and James, do you think ESR departing is a real natural way to integrate nwaneri into this first team? Buying someone like merino makes sense but I don't think looking for a direct ESR replacement makes any sense at all
End of an era
Solanke bullied Heaven (as expected) his first touch + speed of thought isn't there yet too. He still has a lot of work to do.
Skelly looked good until I think it was Outtara came on.
Nwaneri had moments in the first half and also did make some clever runs.
I don't think any of the kids who came on in the second half had a good game but some of them looked very very young. It's Segoe Jr and Rekic who disappointed me the most.
I was mostly impressed by Salah but at the end of the day this is only the first preseason game. I don't think any of the youngsters, really stood out to the point where I would be confident in them starting a game or even coming on to salvage one like Nelson, ESR or Nketiah did for us. You could tell there is still a huge gap but being around the 1st team players will help.
Extra time: is there anything in the links to Musiala, Eze or another attacking midfielder?
#Extratime
Question to Charles and James. We all know Arsenal highly rate and want Nico Williams. Anything can happen but as things stand right now, it seems like Barcelona are leading the race. If Arsenal should start to look at alternatives for a winger signing, who would your ideal signing be besides Nico Williams? Personally for me Adeyemi from Dortmund seems raw but he has lots of potential left and ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to recruitment. Young, experienced, covering multiple positions(which actually is what TNAT said on the mystery German). He is out there on the market for a fair reasonable price and i can't see why Arsenal aren't being linked with Adeyemi.
Juve is on his tail and I can't stomach the fact that they have already taken Douglas Luiz who we should have gone for. My reservation with Adeyemi is his goal record. 5 last season and 8 the season before that. If we are bringing in a winger, but no No 9, it should be a goal scoring winger.
What about Ferran Torres as an option? Seems to have gone quiet on him. Knows Arteta, versatile player..
Thoughts?
Good price for emile...wish him all the best
Hey Charles, did you see the two training videos? Pumping iron big time in one video, young players looking fast and sharp in the other. We'll be running rings around City and bullying Newcastle off the pitch next season!
😂😂😂😂😂.
Bullying Newcastle will make the new season so enjoyable.
Happy birthday to Emile Smith Rowe.
Hey Charles! Like you, I am very emotional about ESR leaving, especially with memories of how as a young kids he and Saka carried the weight of an underperforming team and dragged us back. I still cannot believe how he is not a left-sided 8 option. Obviously Arteta knows what he is doing, but still ...
The transfer fee feels quite low given what other players (of unknown caiber) in the 'PSR friendly transfers' amongst other clubs are being tossed around for. Do you think Merino is actually a better option than ESR? Why not someone like an Eze or an Olmo?
Why lose ESR when you also have Vieira on the bench? Surely the better move is to move on Fabio and ensure some minutes to ESR. Disappointed is an understatement.share your sentiments on that Chelsea game too.
Nnwaneri should be ESR replacement. Any midfielder that we buy should be a first teamer.
You need an Arsenal backdrop..photos..posters etc etc
ESR❤❤❤
I wish the best of luck to ESR
Nwaneri is the natural replacement for ESR
If Arteta has a vision for the future of the team Hein is a proper 3rd choice goalie and he must not go on loan
Extra time Q: I’m really excited by the potential incomings this transfer window. But I hope Arsenal can get in a winger to give Saka competition and the cover he needs this season in order for him to play at his best. If there was one winger you could buy right now that can play on the right, who would it be?
Really hope we have a buy back clause for esr, just in case
Sigh. I’ll miss ESR. Almost the same feeling I had when Wilshere left us the other time.
Gonna miss ESR. Always wonder why he and the team decided to wait so long on his surgery? Good luck accept against us!
ESR needed this move. Watch him grow at Fulham.
I am also dissapointed, i loved this boy so much. I hope arsenal will now turn its attention to a real striker. Defendsrs appear to all good for rotation.
#extratime
Hi Charles/ James , With all the talk of Calafiori coming in and one of the two Kiwior /Zinchenko going out , My opinion is that we keep Zinchenko and let Kiwior leave ( for good price ). Calafiori would restrict his gametime and in Zinchenko we have someone unique who can play and be a deep left sided playmaker , which would give us an extra dimension in matches where we might have most of the ball . Would love to know your thoughts on it .
High wattage ⚡️
Extra time:
Hi Charles and Benge!
In the last 24 hours rumours of Chiesa has resurfaced. Juventus probably hates us for getting Calafiori 😎💪
But from what I’ve heard they are interested in Kiwior. Since we saw them doing a swap deal + difference for Douglas Luiz, do you reckon the same might happen in a deal for Chiesa-Kiwior?
Extra Time: With ESR’s departure seemingly imminent, what’s your favourite moment of his in an Arsenal shirt? For me it was Spurs at home when we blitzed them in the first half at the emirates. The stadium was absolutely on fire that day.