I ignored Deadline Day as much as I could.
After a spell on the bike with no wheels, and a kilometre on the treadmill, plus a few floor exercises, I went for a swim.
In the gym café I glanced through the sports pages of two papers while consuming a pot of English breakfast tea.
Then I folded the papers neatly and put them back in the stainless steel rack that’s close to the TV set.
The TV was tuned to Deadline Day and I could not fail to see: ARSENAL OFFER £92m FOR LEMAR
I thought: Fucking hell, you could have signed him months ago for less than that!
By the time I got home, Deadline Day was reporting that deal to be “very unlikely now”.
Thomas Lemar did not want to join Arsenal.
But he did score two goals for France last night.
A long time ago Arsenal went to Anfield and Wenger inexplicably failed to start : goal-machine Lacazette and strong man Kolasinac.
By doing that, Wenger lost the dressing room.
When the players saw the team the manager selected, they didn’t try.
They just gave up and got thrashed 4-0.
A result that surprised nobody.
The word that describes Arsenal’s transfers and tactics?
It’s a new one that entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013.