Monday’s Odds and Ends

Odds and ends for a Monday…

Will someone please rescue Declan Rice from the disaster at West Ham United? He is too talented to to be mixed up with a bunch of under achievers. It is really hard to watch. Will Mikel Artea and Edu Gaspar please sign this world class midfielder in the summer? Please!

Does anyone outside of Manchester really care who buys United? First off, the money being tossed around to purchase this club is ridiculous. Most countries GNPs aren’t this big, plus the cost to buy United will probably drive their ticket prices even higher, which is totally unfair to their supporters. However, if I had to choose a new owner, I’d pick Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and keep it in the British family.

How do David Moyes and Graham Potter still have jobs? The club Potter left, Brighton and Hove, sits 7th in the Premier League while Chelsea is in 10th. I have a feeling either Moyes or Potter will become the league’s 9th manager to be sacked this season.

As much as I respect Eddie Nkeitah as a player, let’s hope Gabriel Jesus returns to our line-up soon. Eddie is having a difficult time finding the back of the net in recent games, which is driving Gooner Nation up a wall. We need to keep scoring goals and our center forward is a key to getting that done. Hurry up and get better Gabriel!

Sorry to see Lee Mason end his long officiating career the way it did. Yes, Mason did cost the Gunners two points v Brentford with some very poor VAR work, however, the man spent 15 years on the pitch overseeing Premier League matches. Even though he wasn’t always the most popular referee among players and managers, you still have to respect his volume of work and dedication to the game. Best of luck, Mr. Mason.

Did everyone see Mikel Arteta mock referee Simon Hooper on Saturday? Very late in stoppage time Hooper signaled for a substitution. The boss did his own version of the signal on the sidelines, which was extremely funny to see.

It might be time for Arteta to give more playing time to the likes of Matt Turner, Pablo Vieira, Kieran Tierney, Jakub Kiwior, Rob Holding and Reiss Nelson. Also, let’s get Emile Smith Rowe back in action. The boss has an extremely talented bench, so maybe it’s that point in the season to begin rotating his squad more. With Europa League matches coming up soon, the Thursday/Sunday match day scenario will pay a toll  on players if they don’t get enough rest. I know, I know, it’s a real balancing act.

Finally, the Europa League Round of 16 draw will be on Friday. The Gunners will learn their opponents for this stage of the competition, which kick-off on March 9th.

Cheers.

Gunner1953