Two things that caught my eye today

Everyday I scan the London papers looking for notes and quotes to put into the Yankee Gooner blog page. Today was no exception.

Here are the two things that really caught my eye, and gave me something to think about and to share with all of you.

#1 – Today is Kieren Tierney’s 23rd birthday. He has been with the Gunners for approximately one year, and has made only 5 appearances for the Gunners due to injury. Today the highly-heralded left wing made headlines that really got shook me. The Express in London reported Kieran Tierney would be moving to Leicester City if manager Brendan Rodgers had his way. Tierney played for Rodgers when they were both at Celtic. Rodgers has publicly stated he would love to have the young defender join the Foxes.

Obviously, Tierney is no lock to be Arsenal’s starting left back. Currently, Bukayo Saka and Sead Kolasinac play the position too, so there is strong competition for Tierney. At Leicester, he would be an immediate starter. However, back at Arsenal, Saka might be moving to a more offensive position, and Kolasinac could be gone by the start of the 2020-2021 season. Would sending such a talented player as Tierney to a major competitor make any sense for Arsenal? A few years ago I would be holding my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, however, today I have more confidence that our front office will keep the 23-year-old in our squad and enjoy the successes he will surely produce.

#2 – A few quotes came from an Arsenal player late yesterday that really got me fired up for the restart of the season. Our captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said “his teammates have a lot of power and a lot of freshness” ahead of their June 17th match-up at Manchester City. He also was quoted saying, “I don’t know if it will be harder or easier behind closed doors, but the only thing for sure I know is that they are a great team and it will be hard for sure, but we didn’t expect it to be easier because of no fans in the stadium. We will try our best and the positive thing that I saw is that all the players on our team are feeling well. They want to play, everybody is just waiting for the referee to whistle.”

Now those statements have given me a lot of hope. I have high expectations for this team for the remainder of the season. I really believe a European spot is achievable, but only if they return with the same fire and spirit we saw prior to the COVID-19 outbreak that stopped the season in its tracks.

COYG!

Cheers, and stay healthy and safe!

Gunner1953