Joe Willock has not trained yet but is making 'good progress' (Howe)

[bowlingcrofty]

Seeya Joe

 

[Guest HTT II]

He won’t be playing today, ITK 

[Guest HTT II]

3 minutes ago, bowlingcrofty said:

Seeya Joe

 

I don’t think Arteta will be there next season!

[Cronky]

There's a gap between the Independent's headline and what Arteta actually said. My impression was that Willock is likely to go out on loan again.

[Superior Acuña]

From what I've seen him I wouldn't think Arsenal would want to be selling him, bar a silly offer - he's only 21!

[Guest]

Could see them taking £20-25m with one of those annoying ‘buyback’ clauses for about £40m.

[Joey Linton]

Unless we have a fee agreed in the loan deal (no chance anyone is that bright) then I can't see Ashley paying what they'll want for him. 

[James]

Now that it’s a 26 man squad for the Euros if I was Southgate I would seriously consider selecting him, not to start but he seems to have this very rare ability to find space in the box when coming on as a sub. It could be an interesting option particularly as the additional extra time sub

[joeyt]

[Guest]

That reminds me of the time Lineker suggested England could take Steve Harper to the 2010 World Cup because he was used to sitting on the bench...

 

"I've seen even the best, like Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, have nightmares this season. So why not look at Harper? He's solid, dependable and I know Alan Shearer rates him. But as far as I have seen, he hasn't been mentioned. 

"Having understudied Shay Given for years, he will not be fazed by sitting on the bench and staying focused if needed at a second's notice."

 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Optimistic Nut

[CalmintheChaos]

19 minutes ago, James said:

Now that it’s a 26 man squad for the Euros if I was Southgate I would seriously consider selecting him, not to start but he seems to have this very rare ability to find space in the box when coming on as a sub. It could be an interesting option particularly as the additional extra time sub

I agree. He would offer far more than the likes of Dier, Phillips and the plodders Southgate will end up stocking the squad up with 

[Colos Short and Curlies]

2 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

That reminds me of the time Lineker suggested England could take Steve Harper to the 2010 World Cup because he was used to sitting on the bench...

There's definite logic to have a sub keeper who is used to that type of role. Take 2 first choice keepers and a third sub specialist

[James]

I think there’s logic to pick a few players who have shown they can come off the bench and uplift a game. Too often have you seen England bring on a sub who is used to starting games and ends up just being an ineffective inferior replacement to whomever they replaced.

the best example of course is Solskjaer whom Fergie kept on for years because of how he performed from the bench. It won him the Champions League having that sub specialist.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

There's definite logic to have a sub keeper who is used to that type of role. Take 2 first choice keepers and a third sub specialist

Just take the 3 best keepers and in the warm-up matches use your reserve keepers for the last 20/30 mins of games for instance if it’s a factor.

[Rafalove]

Harper probably was one of the three best keepers.

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Optimistic Nut said:

Could see them taking £20-25m with one of those annoying ‘buyback’ clauses for about £40m.

I think that ship has sailed. His goals have inflated his value and I can't see Arsenal wanting to let him go for anything less than daft money now. It's not like they have had a great season, why would they let him go when he's made such an impact in limited time on the pitch? Shame for us, but his signing even on loan has probably saved us from relegation so well worth it even if we've got little chance of making it permanent now. 

[The Prophet]

He's not too popular at Arsenal. Apparently he's thrown in some absolute stinkers for them and they'll be looking at a higher calibre of player. Whereas here, he's better than anything we have, simply because he can pass a ball five yards and he doesn't gas after 60 minutes.

I do like him though. He's the only midfielder we have that runs beyond the strikers.

[Guest HTT II]

Arsenal will be selling off a few players in the summer, they need the money.

[TRon]

I suppose the main question mark around him would be does he do enough of the ugly work which makes a complete midfielder. There's no doubt he's good on the ball, just not sure I've seen much of him from a defensive POV. Managers don't tend to take those things lightly no matter how good you are in goal scoring positions. 

[Rafalove]

At 21 he can still learn that side of the game. Seems to have the right attitude to do that.

[TRon]

Just now, Rafalove said:

At 21 he can still learn that side of the game. Seems to have the right attitude to do that.

In which case Arsenal won't be letting him go. The only reason they might sell him is if he's got the wrong attitude.

[toon25]

I thought this was an 18 month loan?

[Rafalove]

47 minutes ago, TRon said:

In which case Arsenal won't be letting him go. The only reason they might sell him is if he's got the wrong attitude.

You would think that would be the case, but as HTT said Arsenal need the money there is also the possibility or hope they don’t value him as highly as they should.

[Stifler]

Got to say, would I fuck be playing Elneny ahead of him.

[Dan Gleebals]

According to our fraud of a manager he is "knocking on the door for a start against Leicester".  He has been from the day he got here.  Granted, he has done really well coming on late in games but he is far better then the rest in the middle. 

Give him the last 4 games to really show what he is about. If we have any chance of getting him (or proving we want him), he should be the first name on the team sheet.