By Bulldog Drummond
足球
(That’s football in Chinese)
Chelsea’s pre-season has been rather different from that of Arsenal, in that aside from a match against Fulham held in secret (Chelsea reportedly won 8-2) they have not had a pre-season on the pitch. As we will see below they have had a pre-season in the office but not on the pitch.
This then is their schedule before the clubs meet again in the Community Shield (renamed as we do like to remember each season, from the Charity Shield after the FA were caught fiddling the books and breaking the rules, and were charged with the misappropriation of funds by the Charity Commission.)
| Date | Opponent | Time (local / BST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22 | Arsenal | 19:40 / 12:40 | Bird’s Nest, Beijing |
| Jul 25 | Bayern Munich | 19:35 / 12:35 | National Stadium, Singapore |
| Jul 29 | Inter Milan | 19:35 / 12:35 | National Stadium, Singapore |
It is anticipated that Chelsea will continue to play other games in secret.
冒险 (Hazard)
The big news on the transfer / injury front for Chelsea is that Eden Hazard is said to be going through rehab ready to be transferred. Diario Gol say Hazard actually wants to join Real Madrid, and of course we know what to do with transfer rumours on Untold – but this one seems a little persistent.
Chelsea are of course the champions and as such of the highest profile when it comes to attracting players. But players are not always utterly stupid in such matters and the fact that Kurt Zouma, a particularly promising defender didn’t manage to get into Team Conte, leaving him either injured or beached for most of the season has not gone unnoticed.
This rather talented player has now joined the almighty ball playing… Stoke on loan.
Diego Costa is another player looking likely to go a wandering. The story is that he has issues with The Conte and these are not allowed to be. So “leave” is the only option.
The “make it up as we go along” Telegraph claim Conte said: “I don’t like to talk about players who are not here but the only thing I can tell you [is that] in January, the Costa situation was very clear, for the club for him and his agent. For me the situation is closed.”
They don’t call him Mr Enigma for nothing.
[You mean he pays people to say it? = Tony]
The big issue seems to have been the FA Cup final. You might remember it – an occasion where despite eight wins in the last nine we were told we didn’t have a chance by every single person who knows everything there is to know about football.
So there we were and Chelsea needed a goal to go for extra time. So they took Diego Costa off.
队伍
That of course is “the teams” in Mandarin.
Sead Kolasinac, Theo Walcott, Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud are all said to be doubtful with food poisoning. (I hope someone in the Arsenal Touring Party has been sacked for this. Why didn’t they bring their own sandwiches?)
For the Squabblers new signings Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Morata are said not to be playing.
M Wenger said, “It is difficult to predict, but I think it is a friendly between Arsenal and Chelsea, that means it is not really a friendly. There is some pride at stake and a desire to win. It was a very interesting game in the FA Cup final, we play them in the Charity Shield and then play them early in the season as well.
“In fact, we know each other very well and it is difficult how to know how prepared Chelsea are and how far we are for the preparation tomorrow. It was a good indication against Bayern, it will be another test for us tomorrow.”
Gary Cahill has said on his club’s website: “The second season after you’re champions is very difficult, we saw that with ourselves and Leicester last year. We need extra motivation in the team and we need to work even harder than we did last year. We need to be mindful of the fact that it will be difficult because when you’re champions every other team in the league want to beat you.”
So what of Chelsea’s summer transferations?
[Is there such a word? – Tony]
[Do stop being pedantic. – Bulldog]
[Can’t we have a bit of respect around here? Don’t we have anyone else who can write previews? – Tony]
Players in
- Ethan Ampadu, from Exeter City, free
- Willy Caballero, from being a free agent, free
- Antonio Rüdiger, from Roma, £29m
- Tiémoué Bakayoko, from Monaco, £39.7m
- Álvaro Morata, from Real Madrid, £58m
Players out (23)
- Juan Cuadrado, to Juventus, £17.3m
- Christian Atsu to Newcastle United, £6m
- Asmir Begovic, to Bournemouth, £10m
- Dominic Solanke, Free agent, released
- Alex Kiwomya, to Doncaster Rovers, undisclosed
- Fankaty Dabo, to Vitesse Arnhem, loan
- Bertrand Traoré, to Lyon, £8.8m
- Nathan Aké, to Bournemouth, £20m
- John Terry, Free racist, released
- Tammy Abraham, to Swansea City, loan
- Kasey Palmer, to Huddersfield Town, loan
- Todd Kane, to Groningen, loan
- Charlie Colkett, to Vitesse Arnhem, loan
- Bradley Collins, to Forest Green Rovers, loan
- Ola Aina, to Hull City, loan
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek, to Crystal Palace, loan
- Nathaniel Chalobah, to Watford, £5m
- Lucas Piazon, to Fulham, loan
- Marco van Ginkel, to PSV Eindhoven, loan
- Mukhtar Ali, to Vitesse Arnhem, undisclosed
- Ike Ugbo, to Barnsley, loan
- Kurt Zouma, to Stoke City, loan
- Jay Dasilva, to Charlton, loan
23 players out. That’s quite a lot really.
This is the sort of team we could use
Cech,
Bielik, Mertesacker, Monreal, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles,
Ramsey, Xhaka,
Ozil, Theo,
Lacazette
Also available could be Coquelin, Welbeck, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Martinez, Elneny, Malen, Nketiah, Bramall, Nelson, Ospina. Much depends on who ate the oysters.
- Arsenal v Chelsea: the preliminaries, the food poisoning, the stories
- Cup of Nations to be moved; Man City in further tapping up allegations
- Arsenal’s use of academy players; club transfer comparisons; use of teenagers.
- President of Spain’s FA arrested. And behind the corruption, there are stories of referee fixing.
If reports are to be believed Oxlade C should be playing for Chelsea today!!!!!!!!
Clicks are more important than respect to the bloggettes. I keep leaving comments on Give Me Sport and Sports Bible about their utter drivel, but I don’t think they care cos they know they got my click. I shouldn’t give them my clicks but it seems I can’t help myself.
Just surveying the blogs I wonder how anyone can pretend that 46 million pounds coming from PSG is a HUGE offer for Alexis….
When we look at prices so far this summer, it does seem out of touch with reality. Considering what Alexis would be worth in terms of goals, points, CL qualification and trophies, it does not add up – at least to me.
And I bet that if he were to be sold for that price, we’d have gazillions of comments about him ruining the club, our future chances, etc, etc, etc.
Then again, because they say so on the web does not mean it is so.
Right, in the UK it is on ITV, and on the Arsenal Player – which is more like it than the way we were treated for the previous match. But no updates about the team or anything on Arsenal.com. Don’t we deserve better than that from a club of Arsenal’s size?
I’ll try and get the teams off the TV
On the recoup side in this summer transfer market, Chelsea have recouped just over £60m form their outgoing sales so far which has paid for the purported £58m they were reported to have spent to sign striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid just of recent. And with the money they’ll make from the sales of Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic to come, it looks like Chelsea could have a summer transfer business that will nearly break even.
But what of us at Arsenal after committing the sum of £46.5m as per reports to bring in striker Alexander Lacazette? we’ve so far recouped a reported £10m from the sale of Wojceich Szczesny to Jeventus. Thus leaving us with a balance of £36.5m yet to be recouped. Or have we sold any young Gunner for that kind £2m this summer? I can’t remembered.
Anyway, I believe Arsenal will still buy Thomas Lemar from AS Monaco this summer despite all the unforseen delays encountered to get the deal done. But the conclusion of this deal will leave Arsenal will more recoups to do on their hands this summer as money cannot just be flying out from the transfer kitty account without any substantial recouping done to cushion the effect of the spending.
In this unlikely wise, it has been alleged that Arsenal want to sell Calum Chambers to Crystal Palace for a reported £20m in transfer fee. But Crystal Palace are reported to have submitted a bid of £16m to Arsenal for the centreback signature which Arsenal were reported to have turned it down. But C Palace are believed could return with a higher bid according to reports. Now, if I have a say in this matter which of course I don’t, Le Prof should please for God’s sake keep the centreback Chambers, in his first team squad for next season’s campaign. For, as the campaign could be long for Arsenal in the five competitions that includes the CS match against Chelsea in which they’ll compete for honours, a time will come during the campaign when Arsenal will need to deploy the service of Chambers for action. That said.
I think Arsenal will this summer sell some of their Gunners whom they’ve deemed are surpluses to requirements in their first team squad such as, Kerian Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Matthieu Debuchy and Lucas Perez and no more. The sales of these Gunners in this current summer transfer market should fetch for Arsenal a substantial amount of money for recoup purpose. But to add the sales of Chambers for this recoup business exercise is to me unfair. Agree, After the conclusion of the Lacazette signing and the envisaged conclusion of Lemar signing which could cost Arsenal up to £90m to successfully executes, Arsenal still need to sign a top grade holding midfielder (DM) this summer. So that they will always have two DMs in the first team for options and cover and not be limited to having just only one who a times may not be available.
It looks like I’ll not watch the Arsenal vs Chelsea friendly match live playing in China today. Because after zapping all the 15 Sports channels on my DStv decoder, I can’t see on which of these 15 available Sports channels on my decoder this our match against Chelsea is going to be showing. What I can see will be showing are the two Asia Cup games for the 3rd place between WBA and Crystal Palace, and the final match between Liverpool and Leicester. This is against what the Dstv multichoise customers care man told me last Wednesday that the Arsenal vs Chelsea match will be showing live today. The lack of bringing this match to me to watch it live by the Dstv is unpardonable. More so, as I am paying for my subscription when due.
Samuel Akinsola Adebosin – I wholly agree with you. I can’t see what the TV companies are playing at this summer. It really is up to the club to sell the rights to people who will allow supporters to see these matches
Kevin Campbell on ITV, being very positive about Arsenal. Tony Cascerino also on.
Arsenal:
Ospina
Monreal Mert, Maitland Niles
Brammall Xhaka Ramsey Ox
Iwobi Lacazette Ozil
Wonderful chance for Bramall after moving from non league football to Arsenal. Mr Wenger must have a real belief in this player to give him a chance today.
This match was supposed to kick off at 12.20 UK time. But it is 1235 BST and the teams are just hanging about in the tunnel. Is there a temporal warp?
News on ITV that Arsenal are preparing to sell Oxlade Chamberlain to Chelsea.
On the recoup side in this summer transfer market, Chelsea have recouped just over £60m form their outgoing sales so far which has paid for the purported £58m they were reported to have spent to sign striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid just of recent. And with the money they’ll make from the sales of Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic to come, it looks like Chelsea could have a summer transfer business that will nearly break even.
But what of us at Arsenal after committing the sum of £46.5m as per reports to bring in striker Alexander Lacazette? We’ve so far recouped a reported £10m from the sale of Wojceich Szczesny to Jeventus. Thus leaving us with a balance of £36.5m yet to be recouped. Or have we sold any young Gunner for that kind £2m this summer? I can’t remembered.
Anyway, I believe Arsenal will still buy Thomas Lemar from AS Monaco this summer despite all the unforseen delays encountered to get the deal done. But the conclusion of this deal will leave Arsenal with more recoups to do on their hands this summer as money cannot just be flying out from the transfer kitty account without any substantial recouping done to cushion the effect of the spending.
In this unlikely wise, it has been alleged that Arsenal want to sell Calum Chambers to Crystal Palace for a reported £20m in transfer fee. But Crystal Palace are reported to have submitted a bid of £16m to Arsenal for the centreback signature which Arsenal were reported to have turned it down. But C Palace are believed could return with a higher bid according to reports. Now, if I have a say in this matter which of course I don’t, Le Prof should please for God’s sake keep the centreback Chambers, in his first team squad for next season’s campaign. For, as the campaign could be long for Arsenal in the five competitions that includes the CS match against Chelsea in which they’ll compete for honours, a time will come during the campaign when Arsenal will need to deploy the service of Chambers for action. That said.
I think Arsenal will this summer sell some of their Gunners whom they’ve deemed are surpluses to requirements in their first team squad such as, Kerian Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Matthieu Debuchy and Lucas Perez and no more. The sales of these Gunners in this current summer transfer market should fetch for Arsenal a substantial amount of money for recoup purpose. But to add the sale of Chambers to them for this recoup business exercise is to me unfair. Agree, After the conclusion of the Lacazette signing and the envisaged conclusion of Lemar signing which could cost Arsenal up to £90m to successfully executes it, Arsenal still need to sign a top grade holding midfielder (DM) this summer. So that they will always have two DMs in their first team for options and cover and not be limited to having just only one who a times may not be available.
It looks like I’ll not watch the Arsenal vs Chelsea friendly match live that’s playing in China today. Because after zapping all the 15 Sporting channels on my DStv decoder, I can’t see on which of these 15 available Sports channels on my decoder this our match against Chelsea is going to be showing. What I can see will be showing are the two Asia Cup games for the 3rd place between WBA and Crystal Palace, and the final match between Liverpool and Leicester. This is against what the Dstv multichoise customers care man told me last Wednesday when I made a call to them and asked when will the Arsenal vs Chelsea match will be showing live today. And I was told as from @12:30 pm GMT today. The lack of bringing this match to me today to watch it live by the Dstv is unpardonable. More so, as I am paying for my subscription when due.
Sorry to have reposted.
Maitland Niles is playing in the back 3, rather than as a wing back.
@Tony Atwood. “News on ITV that Arsenal are preparing to sell Oxlade Chamberlain to Chelsea”. But you can’t believe this Sir. Or could you? If Arsenal is preparing to do that, how come they are risking playing the Ox against the team Chelsea today who is club they want to sell him to?
Positioning of Arsenal leaves much to be desired. Come on lads. The start whistle has blown.
In PL Ospina would be sent off i’ll bet.
Samuel, no I certainly dont believe Arsenal are selling the OX to Chelsea.
Anyway, we now have a game of four halves. Just had a drinks break.
Arsenal need to be more direct in their play.
These timid starts need not carry on into our season.
Did i say timid? (Chel$ will feel it though). 🙂
1-0 to Chelsea five minutes before half time.
It was coming though. Chel$ 1
And a second for Chelsea within 90 seconds 2-0 to Chelsea.
Chel$ 2
See what i mean?
Arsenal have not even woken up yet that they are playing a game.
OT
Have we ever played a pre season friendly against spuds?
I can’t recall one.
The difference between Wenger & Conte can bee seen in team selection. Conte wants to win Wenger wants to test his players. I cannot see Chelsea winning against Arsenal in UK unless the PGMOL are involved. There is no urgency in Arsenals play. Cannot see anything special in the chavs other than hunger in China.
Coquelin, Elneny, Giroud, Welbeck, Koscielny on for second half, after long protest by officials that Giroud was not on the official list so could not play.
@menace
It’s a friendly
No need to start defending anything
Chelsea were stronger last season and judging by the additions they’ve made will get even stronger
We just need to keep Alexis,or else feel we’ll be in big trouble
Le Prof should reverse his starts who played the first half of this match with the more capable, serious and hungry for goals Gunners on his bench. So that we’ll see if they’ll redeem Arsenal’s image by not only cancelling the two goals Chelsea have scored against us towards the end of the first half of this match. But also score the winning goal in the match to sink Antonio Conte’s Chelsea team bride into the mud.
3-0 to Chelsea after 49 minutes
Arsenal will have to learn to start games with concentration, who ever is playing.
Chel$ 3
Come on lads, support one another with movement, you are too static.
It is not a game of ‘two halves’, It is a game of ‘two teams’.
Despite the scoreline, I really like the creativity I see up front, this half. Giroud seems to be playing a bit deeper than Welbeck and Ramsey and being used as a target there.
Mr Tony Atwood, Sir, do you know what? As I was rezapping my Dstv decoder’s channels and got to channel 4, there it is, Arsenal vs Chelsea match showing live. But 57 minutes into the match, Arsenal are down by 0 goals to Chelsea 3. This is unbelievable. And if the final scoreline remains like this at the final whistle of this match without Arsenal getting some goals on the score sheet. It will be unacceptable. I think we need Sanchez. And is Lacazette the right striker Le Prof should have signed?
Samuel you could take into account the fact that Arsenal’s team has had food poisoning, plus a lot of travelling.
And the fact that it doesn’t look to me as if Chelsea are playing the same level of young players as Arsenal are.
ITV have two Donald Trumps for commentators.
Chelsea were better at hitting early diagonal switches than us and they caught us out.
Koscielny fouled the player because of the missed tug on his shirt by the referee.
match report is on line
That last Chelsea’s free kick at the edge of our box caught by Martinez and his kicking the ball up field that sees the match referee blows the final whistle has convinced me that Martinez is a good and a serious goal tender who can mann the Arsenal goal post in any match better than the three goals conceding in this match, David Ospina. Has Le Prof made a big mistake to have allowed Szczsney to go instead of allowing Osipna to leave? One will be forced to imagine after the poor showing of Ospina in this match for Arsenal today.
The good thing about this match in which Chelsea have humiliated us 3-0 is we’ve been alerted to what level of high quality game to expect to face when we play again the Champions League building team, Chelsea in the CS match at Wembley early in August and at Stanford Bridge much later next season. So, the ball is in Le Prof’s and the Gunners’ court to fully prepared for Chelsea. But Leicester, who are our opponents in our opening Premier League match next season at the Emirates Stadium are on the 84 minutes into the game of the final of the Asia Cup game, losing 2-1 to the highly rated Joggen Klopp’s Liverpool team. Could we take solace from that result if it stays that way to the very end of the match?
We beat them 4-0 in the wembley international tournament in the summer of 1988, that was kind of a friendly – pre-season anyway! Also beat bayern munich in that tournament?