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  • Can we win the league?
     
    Man City
    Guardiola Manager

    Possible strongest 11
    Ederson
    Walker Laporte Dias Cancelo
    Rodri Gundogan
    Silva De Bruyne
    Haaland Mahrez
    Arsenal
    Arteta manager

    Possible strongest 11
    Ramsdale
    Tierney Gabriel Saliba/White Tomiyasu
    Partey Xhaka
    Odegaard  Zinchenko/Vieira/Smith Rowe/Martinelli
    Jesus Saka
    Are Arsenal better than Manchester City?
    And so where are we? Can we compete? I have decided this week to check us out against the champions. Does it look good? Well, before I get to that I have to make a disclaimer that you never really know until a few weeks into a season what the line-ups are. I have had a go at guessing both Arsenal’s and Man City's top 11. I could easily be proven wrong as players pop up every season but I am going on what I know so far. It is surely something like what I am saying. City won't play worse players than these, for sure.
    Let’s start with Guardiola vs Arteta. Easily Guardiola, he has won everything. Maybe Arteta, over time, can prove to be better, but it will be an extraordinary achievement. One nil to the City boys.
    Their defence is better
    Goalkeepers? Ederson is the pick over Ramsdale but at least that competition could swing Ramsdale’s way in the future. He is very good. But few would make that case at the moment. Or would you? Two nil to the Citizens for me.
    Left back? Tierney vs Cancelo. Cancelo made the Premier league team of 2021-22 and could be the best in his position whereas we don’t know if Tierney is going to start. He could be a great but he badly needs to get over his injury problems as he is such a good player but three nil to the Blues.
    Right back? Kyle Walker vs Tomiyasu or maybe Ben White. I have to give it to Walker again although this is a bit harder to choose. Cancelo also plays right back as City’s defence is so strong so he would also be better at the moment than any of ours. Four nil to the Blue Mooners and it is all going wrong for us.

    Kevin Campbell says these are the future
    Centrebacks? Oh no, not Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte? I’m sorry I don’t think so. I don’t see how you could put Gabriel, White or Saliba in front of these two who were in the best Premier league team of 2021-22. Two goals in quick succession from the Man City boys and we are already almost beaten at half time. Six nil to the Sky blues.

    But these guys are superb
    Their midfield is better
    Holding midfielder? Thomas Partey vs Rodri. Honestly, I can’t put Partey in front of the sublime Rodri. Maybe if he stayed fit and reached his full potential it is possible but I defy any Arsenal fan to say Partey here and now. Nightmare as we go seven nil behind to the Etihaders and now we are beaten.
    Defensive midfielder? Ilkay Gundogan vs Granit Xhaka. Why did I start this exercise? I must like punishing myself. Xhaka is a better player than some of our fans like to admit but he is also a liability, liable to get sent off or give away a penalty. Gundogan is superb and don’t see any genuine contest here either now or in the future. Are we really eight nil behind the Shark Team?
    Attacking midfielder? Bernardo Silva vs Martin Odegaard. It is a bit more even but 13 goals for Silva, 50 games and Premier league team of the season. Can anyone help me out here? Give me a reason to put Odegaard in front? OMG – nine nil to the Blue boys.

    Zinchenko better than De Bruyne? Does anyone really think so?
    Attacking midfielder? Did I say nightmare? This is a zombie apocalypse vampire nightmare. Kevin De Bruyne? Up next, Let’s go home now, crying all the way. I am not sure who will be playing there or even where De Bruyne will be playing but surely not as a false nine with Haaland there now,  but it doesn’t matter as none of Vieira, Zinchenko or Smith Rowe can match up to the master. Ten nil to the Gallaghers.
    Can we match their forwards?

    Can he set the league alight?
    Centreforward? Haaland vs Jesus. Maybe, if Haaland struggles with Premier League and Jesus shines like crazy. But both are a bit unproven as Guardiola didn’t really trust Jesus as a nine, often playing De Bruyne as a false nine instead. I have to respect everything Guardiola has achieved but I am going to be generous to us and give Jesus a draw here. I may look very stupid this season but hey, I am used to that.  Still ten nil to the Blue side of Manchester.

    Magic, magic, magic is what we want, boys
    Winger?  Saka vs Mahrez. 24 goals in 47 games for Mahrez against 12 in 43 for Saka last season. Mahrez has won everything but I would love to give it to Saka. I am not sure I would be honest to do so, though. In the future maybe he can overtake him and that would be a great achievement. But eleven nil to the Champions, the irresistible Blue Shark Citizens.

    Not many players better than this boy Mahrez
    Judging player by player doesn't win championships - confidence, form and a winning mentality does.
    Depressing? Yes. It shows what we need. We have potential, they have proven players. Maybe Haaland won’t make it but in all honesty, I expect him to light up the Premier league and score lots of goals. I didn’t include Foden, Grealish and others who will surely get many games but those two for sure would be strong competition for our best players.
    I asked a question at the start and the answer has to be no, judging by the players we are up against. I could do the same against Liverpool and get another bad result I suspect. We are probably close to City in some positions but definitely behind in others. We need our players to step up, to play without fear, and take the game to the opposition. We need a bit of luck, we need momentum, and a good consistent start. Crystal Palace haven’t liked doing us favours in recent years and we need to change that. Let Patrick win other matches, not ours. Then Leicester, Bournemouth, Fulham and Villa for August. Maximum points and we are ready to frighten them all, maybe even Guardiola and his supremos. Forget the depression, Gus, Arsenal are the greatest football team!
     
     
     
     
    Лондончани обявиха привличането на Александър Зинченко от Манчестър Сити. Тази сделка се осъществи сравнително бързо, като двата клуба влязоха в директни преговори свързани с подписа на украинеца веднага след като стана ясно, че Лисандро Мартинез ще премине от Аякс Амстердам в Манчестър Юнайтед. Спряганата сума за трансфера на Зинченко е в порядъка на £30 млн. и още £2 млн. под формата на бонуси. Договора на играчът е за период от 4 години, като по този начин той се превръща във втория футболист за това лято, който акостира в Арсенал от състава на ''гражданите''. В началото на този месец това направи и Габриел Жезус. По подобие на привличането на Жезус, Микел Артета е изиграл една от основните роли и в трансфера на Зинченко. Както знаем, Микел Артета бе помощник-треньор в Манчестър Сити в периода 2016 - 2019 година и за това време имаше възможността да работи заедно и с двамата. И като споменахме Габриел Жезус, Александър Зинченко се изказа доста ласкаво за него, когато той напусна Манчестър Сити и му пожела успех занапред. Кой би предполагал, че няма и месец след това, двамата ще се съберат отново, но този път в Арсенал. На практика украинския национал ще се присъедини към новите си съотборници веднага, а именно по време на предсезонното турне на отбора в САЩ. В малките часове на 21 юли (българско време) той изгледа от трибуните на стадион Експлория в Орландо победата на ''топчиите'' над едноименния местен отбор с 3:1. Пристигането на Александър Зинченко в Арсенал означава, че той се превръща в едва вторият украинец, който ще брани цветовете на клуба. Олег Лужни игра за Лондончани в периода 1999 - 2003 година и е част от онзи отбор на Арсенал, който спечели дубъл през 2002 година под ръководството на Арсен Венгер.



    Александър Зинченко е мултифункционален играч, като той може да се представя еднакво добре както в лявата зона на защитата, така и в полузащитата. Прави впечатление това, че Микел Артета и Еду Гаспар имат визията да се сдобият именно с такъв профил играчи в редиците си, които да могат да се справят на повече от една позиция. Привличането на Зинченко е под номер 5 за Арсенал през настоящото лято, след вече новодошлите Габриел Жезус, Фабио Виейра, Маркиньос и Мат Търнър.



    Александър Володомирович Зинченко е роден на 15 декември 1996 година в Радомишъл, Украйна. Продукт е на младежката спортна школа „Карпатия“, която се базира в родния му град. През 2008 година се присъединява към младежкия отбор на ФК Монолит Иличевск, а след две години и към този на Шахтьор Донецк, където в последствие наследява капитанската лента. Малко след това се премества със семейството си в Русия с оглед военните действия в Донбаск. Докато е на територията на Руската федерация се състезава в няколко аматьорски отбора от Московската лига, въпреки че все още има договор с Шахтьор Донецк. Тренира и с отбора на Рубин Казан, но те не го привличат именно заради това, че все още има подписан договор с друг отбор и това би наложило трансферно ембарго на руския клуб. През февруари 2015 година Александър Зинченко се присъединява към отбора на Уфа. Интересен факт за този клуб е това, че е създаден едва през 2009 година. През юли 2016 година Зинченко вече е част от Висшата лига на Англия и конкретно Манчестър Сити. Небесносините го изпращат почти веднага под наем в отбора на ПСВ Айндховен. След един сезон в Нидерландия, украинеца се завръща при ''гражданите'' и прави своя официален дебют на 24 октомври 2017 година. Отбелязва първия си гол за отбора от Манчестър през януари 2019 година, когато се разписва във вратата на Бъртън Албиън в полу-финален двубой за Карабао Къп. През юни същата година преподписва нов договор, който би трябвало да го остави в клуба до юни 2024 година. За целият си престой в Манчестър Сити Александър Зинченко става шампион на Англия 4 пъти, спечелва веднъж ФА Къп, 4 пъти Карабао Къп и веднъж Къмюнити Шийлд. Разписва се общо 12 пъти в 127 изиграни двубоя, а е и носител на отличието за най-добър играч на Украйна за 2019 година. 
    Пожелаваме на Зинченко да носи червено-белия екип със същата страст, с която обикновено се раздава на терена и да спечели поне още толкова отличия в кариерата си, но вече със статута на артилерист!


     
    Local football and rivalry is more exciting

    Players born near here should play for Arsenal
     
    This week I would like to write about an idea I have had for a long time. Traditionally football clubs have had the ability to get players from everywhere. It has become a moneymaking machine that is very much tilted in favour of the wealthy. Has it been good for football? Has it been good for footballers? Has it been good for the local areas? Or fans? Or countries? I say an emphatic no!
    Why so? Football is a huge global industry that cares nothing for localities or regions. Some entire countries get left behind like Bulgaria and Ireland, with nobody interested in the local fare provided and attendances on a downward spiral as fans have favourite teams elsewhere and use their available cash to get to see their idols.
    How many players come from Arsenal?
    Is it good for football that local players cannot get into their local team? How many players in the top leagues come from near their stadiums? In many cases none or very little. Does Newcastle have, despite their name, Newcastle players? Does Liverpool? The Manchesters? Brighton? PSG? Real Madrid? You take my point.

    The Romford Pele would qualify
    So, if you grow up in the Arsenal area and support them you also know that you will never play for them most probably. What effect does that have on football, that almost no-one can aspire to play for their local team? And so if you are good as a kid but maybe not premier league, you have to travel to another area and grow up far away from family. Or if you are very good, you travel anyway, to a top team. All the big teams have academies from everywhere, with young kids forced into a rarefied bubble apart from real life. How can this be good for the area, the kids, or football generally?
    Kids only want to play for the big teams
    And so some areas have become football hotbeds, and hoover up all the talent, and other areas are left bereft. In Ireland, you want to play for Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal or some other top team. Few grow up aspiring to play for Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians or Dundalk. Same here in Bulgaria but in Bulgaria, at the moment, few are managing to play abroad and there isn’t the same glamour about aspiring to play for Ludogoretz, Levski or CSKA. At least in Ireland, players can dream of playing in England.

    How many Bulgarians aspire to play for these?
    The reason football morphed into this situation is simple. Back in the early days of football in the UK, amateur local teams sprung up mostly in the south, which was rich. But soon the dominance switched to the north, professional players were drafted in from Scotland and northern regions as the southern clubs tried to resist. It was doomed. Professional clubs became the standard. Transfers became standard. Money became the standard significant thing. The clubs could draw huge crowds. Chairmen saw the opportunity to make money. The locals were discarded, with only, truly, a pretence that they mattered other than as cash machines.
    Does locality mean anything in football?
    Let’s look instead at a different reality. The world of football today. Fans have little power. Locality means almost nothing. Fans don’t own clubs. Prices are horrendous. Young players, up to the point whether they make it at least, are bundled into the big clubs in their hundreds with a pitiful few getting in. Most living a life of regret, that their best years are gone forever. And so often done in an alien environment, despite whatever efforts the clubs make, it is a machine that spits out hundreds of young people every year, who know that they didn’t make it.
    Tallaght kids can stay at home in the Rovers academy
    What am I proposing, then? And I guess you are all going to say it is impossible. Nothing is impossible, if it can be imagined. I believe that we can keep the existing clubs structure, even.
    Create footballing regions
    What we could do is divide areas into regions based on population and allow for 2 major clubs, and x amount of clubs in the lower divisions. Let's take London, one area could have Arsenal and Tottenham and minor teams. Only local players would be allowed to play. Growing up in this area, you could aspire to play for the big teams or the minor ones if you so wish. Academies could only take players from the area. They stay in their homes and schools. Transfers would only be possible within the area. For Liverpool, it is easy. Liverpool and Everton and the minor teams around. Only really London and Birmingham have more than 2 top teams and Birmingham only have Wolves and Villa at the moment. London has seven but you could maybe put Brighton in the mix to make it work for the moment split into four areas. You will probably have to have unusual border lines to make this idea work but so what? You could agree say a five year revision of lines, for example, to ensure that the borders made sense.

    The players from Celtic Euro cup 1967 all were born near the ground
    Let’s take Bulgaria and Ireland as examples. You take the population as a whole, divide it into regions that would work well in football terms and create new leagues or keep the old ones if that works. The old leagues are not getting the crowds so it should provide a lift. The teams are only allowed a set number of trainees and they have to be born, or if they moved away when young, actually living in the area. Football becomes local again. A local hero knows the supporters, he is their brother, their friend their schoolmate. People would be more inclined to support their local team if they actually knew the players. Young players would wish to play for their local team.
    It should attract bigger crowds. They should be able to get more money. Standards should go up. The national team would get better. It is no coincidence that the great Bulgarian World Cup team came together under communism or that Ireland’s great teams happened because Ireland was essentially the only foreign team in England. The players had the opportunities that comes from being able to play in a stronger league.
    But it's not possible?
    Could it happen? Certainly not easily but’s let’s say there was an agreement to make it happen. I would propose that the starter would be that all new kids coming in would have to be local, and so within 10 years all the older players would be gone or almost. I would suggest that a 3 year transition period would apply wherein things would go on as normal except for the ruling about kids coming in. Then another three years transition where transfers are restricted only to players within the boundaries with certain exceptions for older players coming to the end of their careers. The next four years could be agreed to iron out any remaining problems. I would make it the same rule regarding managers and coaches so that it is truly local.

    Denmark won a far smaller European nations league
    Another important aspect has to be fan ownership. No more billionaires coming in and changing the rules to suit themselves. The Champions League is an egregious example. They have twisted the rules and twisted the rules to make sure only big clubs can win. I love the idea of a league and a cup system. The League will go to the best team of the year and the Cup can go to whoever plays better on the day. Little teams have a chance of a big day and a trophy. Even the World cup and European Nations cup has gone to small teams when it was mostly knockout. It will eventually get boring if only a small number of teams with no real local aspect are the winners always.
    I could write much more but the real benefit long term is that sport comes back to the people. We can get behind our own local players. We can have stronger country teams. Progression becomes logical and young kids are not transported halfway around the world to play football, live far from home and then not make it. I believe that if you ask fans, they would love to have a strong local team to support and to know who those players are and that they care about the area. Am I right? And if this idea is better for football, then it should happen.
     
     
    Сагата около привличането, а в последствие и на официалното представяне на Габриел Жезус най-накрая приключи. Новото попълнение на ''артилеристите'' подписа 5-годишен договор, а за неговите услуги Арсенал е заплатил на Манчестър Сити £45 млн. Предполага се, че Габриел Жезус ще получава седмично възнаграждение в порядъка на £240 000. Този трансфер е толкова жадуван от повечето привърженици на клуба, особено като се има предвид нулевата активност на Лондончани на трансферния прозорец през януари и разделянето с Пиер-Емерик Обамеянг и Александър Лаказет. Ситуацията около подписа на Жезус бе такава, че по неговите следи освен Арсенал, дебнеха също така Челси и Тотнъм Хотспър. В крайна сметка и въпреки това, че ''топчиите'' няма да бъдат част от Шампионска лига наесен, бразилския национал избра да играе под ръководството на Микел Артета. Разбира се, предполага се също така и това, че Еду Гаспар е изиграл огромна роля по привличането му, като двамата с Артета са му обещали редовни шансове за изява с червено-бялата фланелка. Бразилската връзка в този случай също не е за подценяване, като в новия си отбор, Габриел Жезус ще се състезава редом до още два национала на Селесао - Габриел Мартинели и Габриел Магаляеш. До момента се заформя дуо в атака Габриел Жезус и Еди Нкетия, а на този етап Арсенал си осигури услугите също така на Мат Търнър, Маркиньос и Фабио Виейра. 



    Габриел Фернандо де Жезус е роден на 3 април 1997 година в Сао Пауло, Бразилия. Прави първите си стъпки във футбола в няколко местни аматьорски клуба, един от които е Асосиао Атлетика Анангуера. По-късно започва и професионалната си кариера, а именно в Палмейрас. През 2015 година е избран за най-доброто ново попълнение в Кампеонато Бразилейро Серия А. През същата година изиграва една от основните роли в отбора, чрез което спомага за спечелването на Купата на Бразилия. Година по-късно, Габриел Жезус е избран за играч на сезона в първенството, а отборът му се добира и до титлата, след пауза от цели 22 години по онова време. През януари 2017 година нападателят преминава в редиците на Манчестър Сити, а ''гражданите'' заплащат на Палмейрас €32 млн. С небесносиния екип, Габриел Жезус има записани общо 236 мача, в които се е разписал 95 пъти. Именно престоят му в Манчестър е най-успешен в състезаталната му кариера на този етап, като има спечелени 4 титли на Висшата лига, 1 Купа на ФА, 3 Купи на Карабао Къп и 2 щита от Къмюнити Шийлд. С екипа на Селесао, Габриел Жезус има 19 гола на сметката си в 56 изиграни двубоя, като с тях е носител на златен медал от Летните олимпийски игри през 2016 година.



    Интересен факт за Габриел Жезус е това, че в повечето случаи, когато той се разпише прави жестове наподобяващи телефонно обаждане. Тази негова традиция е нещо като почит към майка му, като чрез този жест той й се отблагодарява за това, че се е появил на този свят и разполага с възможността да се занимава с футбол на професионално ниво.
    Пожелаваме му през новата кампания и като цяло занапред тази телефонна линия да е гореща и телефонът да не спира да звъни! 


    Arsenal, English? Really?
     
     
     
     
    My top 2 English teams for Arsenal (at least 100 appearances)
    David Seaman                                            John Lukic
    Ashley Cole, Lee Dixon                             Kenny Sansom, Viv Anderson
    Tony Adams, Sol Campbell                       Martin Keown, Steve Bould
    Peter Storey, Michael Thomas                 David Platt, Ray Parlour
    Bukayo Saka, David Rocastle                   George Armstrong, Charlie George
    John Radford, Ian Wright                          Alan Smith, Malcolm Macdonald
     
    Arsenal are an English team. Arsenal are an English team? Really? So who is our best ever manager? The Englishman Herbert Chapman or the Frenchman Arsene Wenger? Not so easy to say but Wenger has far more trophies and upgraded Arsenal to the top of the pile when Manchester United, full with money, stars, and a huge fanbase, were in their prime. I think you have to put the Frenchman ahead, just.

    More trophies = Better?
    Our best ever player? Also French. The magical Thierry Henry. It is very hard to put a real English contender against him, especially in my time, which, as I find it too hard to judge players from the past, means I can only go on their records. So, Cliff Bastin (396 appearances, 178 goals) is behind Ian Wright (288 appearances, 185 goals). Not a true reflection as they are totally different eras. Ian Wright is a big favourite of mine, as he is to us all here in ASCB, but I have to concede he wasn’t as good as Henry or Bergkamp.

    The tall one is Ian Wright
    Our English defence were so good
    Our best goalkeeper? Well, certainly Seaman has some competition in Jennings, or Lehmann, with all three having their champions. I would go for Jennings. With fullbacks there is an argument for English dominance as indeed in defence generally. David O’Leary, Terry Neill, Frank McLintock, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, Pat Rice and Sammy Nelson were super players but as you can see from my 2 teams up above, the English defenders could hold their own against the best of the outside brigade.
    In midfield not so much. Brady, Vieira, Fabregas, Cazorla, Pettit, Pires, Ljungberg, Rosicky, Ozil, Ramsey, and others would have to be just that bit stronger than the 4 I have nominated above. On the wing, I chose Saka and Rocastle with just behind them Charlie George and Geordie Armstrong, who often played in a 4-3-3 which was a bit different from today. But are they better than Brady, Pires and Ljungberg who often played on the wing and Marc Overmars, Sylvain Wiltord and others? I would say that again the outsiders were a bit stronger.
    Super, super foreign stars up front
    Up front, it is very hard to make a claim that the best English forwards are a match for the best foreigners. The four Englishmen I have chosen were super players but the contest is phenomenal. Henry, Bergamp, Kanu, Anelka, Sanchez, Aubameyang, Van Persie and others of the Wenger era were true superstars.
    In the end, I probably have to concede that only in defence, including goalkeepers, can Arsenal claim to be an English team and even then with strong competition. Anyway this week I decided to take a look at who would be our first and second best English team. One rule was at least a 100 competitive matches so it knocked out guys like Ramsdale, who is surely itching to make my list. Send me VIP tickets for every match, Aaron, and I will put you top .  I chose Seaman over Lukic, mostly because that is probably the consensus choice but truly John Lukic was a superb keeper and only a shade weaker. Ashley Cole and Lee Dixon over Kenny Sansom and Viv Anderson, Very little difference. Superb players with lots of England caps.
    Adams and Campbell, wayhey!
    In central defence, I chose 2 legends, Adams and Campbell over Keown and Bould and probably most people would agree with that. Again I should say that I am choosing from 1969 onwards, the year of my conversion to the Arsenal cult, so the great defenders of the past are omitted.

    Surely a dream defence?
    In central midfield, I chose Peter Storey, who was true class. He could play across the defence and in midfield, always won the ball and made himself available for a pass. Alongside him the legend that is Michael Thomas, who scored what was for me our greatest ever goal against Liverpool at Anfield to win us the title. It’s only Ray Parlour and David Platt provide good backup but probably the first 2 have the edge here.
    Saka our future GOAT?
    On the wing, Saka is surely destined to be a world great and we all love David Rocastle but the competition is huge with Charlie George, a massive fan favourite in my time, and the sublime Geordie Armstrong, our top appearances up to David O’Leary. Very little difference here.

    Ramsdale next to make my list?
    I chose John Radford and Ian Wright up front against SuperMac and Alan Smith. Radford was my hero, scoring vital goals, always leading the line and scoring 149 times. Always someone ahead of him for England and he only got 2 caps. Geoff Hurst and Bobby Charlton, anyone? Ian Wright also lost out to Lineker and Shearer but battled his way to 33 caps all the same. In my time no Arsenal centre-forward claimed the top English spot for any length of time. Can Nketiah? He has managed to be the underage top scorer. Time will tell but at this juncture it seems unlikely.
    Does Englishness matter?
    And so there you have it. Would My top  English team beat my second best? I guess so as in one or two areas they are stronger. But it is tight and could not be guaranteed. I don’t feel they could beat the best foreign 11 though.

    Spot the Englishmen!
    So, to answer my question, posed at the start – is Arsenal an English team? Sort of is my answer. The best players come from everywhere, including England. The fans also come from everywhere as anyone who has been at the Emirates can testify. The owners are American and lots of the staff are from everywhere. Is it important? I don’t know. I think it could be if Arsenal don’t get back to the top. You do need the locals to support and a strong English presence will always help in that regard. Now we have so many English guys playing and starring in all sectors that we probably have the strongest English team at the moment of the teams in the top five. I await the day the Irish make a comeback and we get a Bulgarian superstar for our English team. And c’mon the Arse!
     
                                                                       
     
    These Englishmen looked to be the future. It is hard to make it at Arsenal
     

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