Apparently the spam filter went into over drive yesterday and the abuse was aimed at me for taking on the greatest fans in Europe.
Is it just me or does every team outside the M25 have the ‘worlds greatest fans’? Celtic apparently have a following 15x larger than Arsenal blah blah blah… well, just to set the record straight, I think Denilson’s statistics carry more credibility than that pearler.
Arsenal managed 30,000 fans for a Youth cup final… Celtic couldn’t even muster 15,000 for an important league game last year because they lost in the cup the game before! The Celtic season ticket adverts flashing up on the hoardings weren’t lost on me either… Click here to read more about the greatest fans since Newcastle started losing.
Just for your information, the abuse stopped at 1622. Hmmm?
Arsenal announced before the kick off that they’d raised £818,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. A staggering amount of money, congratulations Arsenal, congratulations Sky for making the link between the hospital having young people in it and Arsenal liking young players. Genius.
Almunia
Sagna Verm JD Clichy
Frimpong
Wilshere Rosicky
Theo JET Vela
The line up was youthful. JET, Wilshere, Frimpong and Vela were all given the chance to fire their way into Wenger’s first team plans this season. Wenger confirmed that Diaby is yet again injured and if the gossip is to be believed, he pulled up 10 minutes into his first training session back. What a joke. I know you can’t blame the players for having faulty genetics… but jeez, this guy is supposed to be a starter for us this year!
Frimpong started the first move of the game dispossessing Celtic within Minutes, Jack played Walcott in at the back post who found no one in the 6 yard box with his cross.
Arsenal were zipping the ball around at a staggering pace, they made their possession count when Jack played Theo into acres of space, the winger slotted across the face of goal (I’d say it was a cross) and Vela held his line perfectly to bundle the goal in off the post. A blistering opening 2 minutes.
Bar a shoddy pass, Frimpong picked up where he left off yesterday, breaking up play and keeping it simple. The last time a Brazilian went AWOL from pre-season Flamini took his chance to steal his first team place.
Vermaelen took the opportunity to show us he can shoot better than Kolo ever could when he let rip from 35 yards. The keeper could do no better than parry it, Walcott wasn’t tall enough to return the header goal bound.
The north of the border crew opened us up with a great through ball, lucky for us Murphy had been taking finishing lessons off future Arsenal Legend Mark Randall yesterday.
Celtic were showing signs of menace and if it weren’t for a superbly timed tackle by Clichy, we may have been in trouble. Arsenal’s midfield were causing bottlenecks which was causing confusion.
Rosicky did well out wide and saw JET’s run early, the giant Englishman went for the audacious chip but was denied by a block. Pretty much the only spark of excitement we saw from him today. Chance lost… I’d imagine he’ll be off to Blackpool.
Jack Wilshere had a deflected shot tipped over the bar. The Young Englishman then smashed a Rosicky corner on the volley at the Celtic goal. An amazing strike, so unlucky!
Sagna was played in at the edge of the 18 yard line and something more unusual than a £20million Arsenal signing happened… he fired it in the bottom right and put us 2-0 up! Superb stuff! It was a shame for the Celtic keeper, he was doing well up until that point.
The second half started with the introduction of Nasri and Chamakh. It took all of five minutes for the super slim Frenchman to slip a powerful shot under the Celtic keeper. Another Theo assist, another great bit of composure from a player rejected by France. Rumours are he had a bust up with Eboue after the match… I’ve heard that our Ivorian isn’t universally loved in the dressing room… he’s a bit of an irritant apparently.
Jack gave away a penalty when he took down a Celtic man in our box. The Greek embarrassingly flew his dead ball over the bar. Was it a bad penalty or was it Manuel’s close season dalliance into the dark arts of mind control that sent it over? Only Arsene will know. Jack will be pleased to have gotten away with that.
Big Al was forced into action minutes later and pulled off a great save. Our defence was taking a bettering and after we failed to react quickest to a dodgy deflection, we conceded our 2nd of the tournament. Disappointing that we couldn’t manage a clean sheet against the worst Celtic team for a decade. Worrying that conceding late has become a problem.
It got worse though, JD had to slice over the bar to snuff out more Celtic danger. He was then muscled off the ball which allowed them in with a header that Almunia had to scramble to tip over. Nervy stuff and very worrying.
Theo was played in by Arshavin late on, he had all the time in the world to pick out one of two players or shoot… he decided none of those options suited and passed it into empty space. This poor decision making continued for the remainder of the game. When the pressure is on, he loses his head and he is so far away from being a finisher I find it criminal people suggest he play through the middle.
Kozzer did his level best to undo all the good of yesterday when he slid over the ball allowing Celtic through on goal. Almunia to the rescue again.
Celtic breached our backline one more time catching Kozzer out of position, they played a simple ball across the box and banged it in for a second. Awful defending and a sure sign that we’ve regressed defensively since last season.
It really was a diabolical end to the Emirates Cup and a sure sign we need reinforcements. We simply cannot go into the season as it stands and expect to overhaul Chelsea.
Lifting the Emirates Cup, if I’m honest, felt a touch embarrassing. Why? Well, deep down, I know Wenger is going to label it silverware later on in the season when the pressure is on. You know, along with that 3rd place trophy we like to compete for.
Arsenal controlled the pace of the game but we showed a worrying tendency to switch off . My biggest fear about preseason is that it’s been geared around showing off our fantastic attacking football which we knew about already. The keepers haven’t really been tested nor has the defence. If we plan to use JD or Koscielny as leading men this year, we’ll be exposed. Neither is ready.
Wenger said that our players don’t have the mental ability to see out a game which is a startling admission 2 weeks before the start of a season but an accurate one. I’ve heard that he is fully aware of the fragilities in his squad. He’s not deluding himself that they are all world beaters. Well, if that’s the case, what’s going on? Why are you talking about your ‘top goalkeepers’? Why haven’t we sorted our centre backs? Weren’t we supposed to be set for the Emirates Cup?
The boss has ruled out purchasing a midfielder this window. I revealed a couple of weeks ago that we enquired after a top defensive midfielder. So that means Frimpong has done enough, which is fine. He looks like a £10million signing, he holds his own in the middle. I can’t name many DM’s who don’t make silly fouls and bad passes every now and then, so I’ll ignore the flaws. Ask a Scouser who holds a season their opinion on Mascharano…
Too many people on the web are resigning themselves to the fact Almunia isn’t actually that bad and he played well yesterday. Well, he is a professional goalkeeper, so games like that can happen. His problem is that he doesn’t have the mental strength to deal with high pressure games. That won’t change and a supposedly solid twenty minutes where he conceded two won’t convince me otherwise.
If the squad stays the same Wenger will be taking an ill-conceived gamble on the most pivotal season of the last ten years. His future, Cesc’s future and the reputation of our club as a big time player depends on the outcome of this year.
So far, it doesn’t feel like the club have accepted any of these realities… complacency is the elephant in the room and the only people who can see it are the fans…
Rohan,
All the best my friend.
Mind you it’s not nice you have left me to the tender mercies of Pedro for your Randall comments.
He’s half Greek half Chinese although of english nationality. If he does come good, Far East popularity and sales just might rise.
Is hating randall because of his face a gay thing?? or a jealousy thing?
it is weird whatever the reason
Billiken,
Can’t see too many gooners reciting sapphic poetry. Still it would be better tha an phyrric victory!
Rohan
Dont let them flush your head down the loo on your first day!
Im in LA in November so i will look out for a gooner with “Snow Patrol” on the back of his shirt!
haha, you prolly won’t see me in LA. I’ll be in Berkeley, close to San Fran.
I think this Randall thing is a case of
FACIAL discrimination.
The same thing killed luke chadwicks career at Man Ure.
Billiken,
Can’t see too many gooners chanting sapphic poetry in the stands. Perhaps a phyrric victory would go down a treat?
Oh…San Fran….now i see!!
Cesc’s hometown is pretty much Barcelona though. Thats the big city by the town and its relatively close.
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair……….
Oi, how come my comment is on twice? I haven’t got a stammer!
San Fran,
Gay capital of the world! Enjoy, Rohan!
pat, do u no y cesc cried at that tribute thing?
Cesc was crying cos Wenger called him and said he wouldnt be selling Theo.
A&N: Don’t go “developing a complex against all Spanish people”. Just returned from two weeks in Catalonia, and they hate the Spanish. A week after WC and I saw not one Spanish flag. The Spanish are our new friends. They cannot stand Barca or the Catalans.
Cesc was crying because Wenger ‘phoned him and said he WOULD be selling Theo, ……… to Barca.
Has Gallas actually gone?
I hope so..
Oh my god, does our hatred for Barca mean we have to get behind Maureen and Real? Yuk.
Chelsea really raped us with the ashley cole deal. theyre set to get 25mil or so if they cash in
The more worrying question is..
Has Silvestre officially gone?
Billiken: now you put it like that, there are many “worrying questions” could be asked as to who remains!
It was a serious question about Gallas. Anyone?
I fucking knew it would come to this. pffft
MIDI
Yes he has been released.
He’s off our books, but I don’t think he’s signed with anyone.
Cheers Gambon. Was he at the end of his contract?
Gallas’ contract with Arsenal ended on the 1st July.
He is free to negotiate a new contract with any club, anywhere.
Rohan, is that you in tears? Or what is pfft?
his demands are totally unrealistic thats why. panathinaikos made him an offer but it wasnt enough for him
It’s all gone very quiet on the ownership issue. Haven’t seen Kronke or Usmanov mentioned very much at all lately
Got to say that while Gallas is a good individual player, I think he is absolutely useless at communicating with those around him, which is why the central pair were so often out of position.
Has Lady Nina got rid of any of her shares?
maciek that wasn’t a rumour that’s fact mate – werder bremen will be in london later this week as they’re playing fulham this weekend. that’s all i said, i didn’t say we were about to write them a cheque for mertesacker and osil!!
Can’t remember who asked about Nico Yennaris’ nationality.
He is English born. His dad is of Cypriot descent and his mother Chinese in origin, but I believe both were born in England.
Good talent, but has had a whole series of injuries, which hopefully are all behind him now.
That’s it then. Arsene should boogey on down to Craven Cottage. Much good business to be had there this w/e.
Every time Nasri has a spat with someone we call the other one a cunt. Maybe Nasri’s the cunt and Eboue and Gallas are just victims.
RedArse…and probably somewhat confused with that heritage!
the bad defending had tiredness as big reason for it..Don’t jump to conclusions friend!!!
gallas is a cunt. always has been
“Bacary Sagna wants to win a major trophy for Arsène Wenger to repay his faith in the Arsenal squad.”
HOW ABOUT WINNING IT FOR THE FANS AND ARSENAL F.C U MUG!!!
His dad named him Nico cos he was a big Steven Seagal fan.
His brother is called Casey Ryback Yennaris
Gallas being the victim
Just a theory guys…
Swedish Gun, if a player wants to win a trophy for his manager doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about the fans. And no reason to call him a mug.
When did Ebway have a fight with Nasri ?!
Nasri wanted Eboues Meatball Marinara.
Mayank
when they care MORE about arsene than arsenal i will call them mugs
Umm, fine but how’d you come to that conclusion. Or did you decide to call him a mug first and then find a suitable premise.
Actually, the thought of Gallas as a victim, is very funny
Is that even a quote from Sagna ? He’s hardly someone who takes the piss and lives the playboy lifestyle, not giving a shit about the fans, he was back playing for us what ? A week ? Next game ? After his brother died.
he didnt say I want to win for Arsenal did he??
Also considering he’s the right back version of Roberto Carlos, he deserves some slack.
Maybe there’s be a film about it in 20 years Micky.
‘This is the story of a footballer who went through his career being victimised, manipulated and cheated wherever he went. This is the story of William Gallas’
Voice over by Morgan Freeman of course.
So the fans loding up the ‘Do it for Ramsey’ banners were Ramsey fans and not Arsenal fans?
Any truth in this?? We live in hope…
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/08/02/arsenal-plan-surprise-22m-double-german-international-swoop/
B
I think that rumour lost credit when it says ‘caughtoffside’.
Yeah thats a bit harsh on Sagna. He has never done anything to disrespect the fans.
the “arsenal plan (anything)” is a bit fishy, too.
Should i even bother clicking on the link for caughtoffside> Every week they have a new story about us splashing vast amounts of money.
Arsenal plan surprise party for distressed victims of Nasri’s vicious attacks.
Richard Garcia and Joey Barton will be Guests of Honour at the Black-tie event. (Kevin Keegan, host speaker)
On a limb by myself here, probably, but I would prefer to start the season with Al still in goal and Keown back as defensive coach that just to go out an get a new ‘keeper without instilling/installing better organization at the back
Arsenal are”proud” to announce a link up with new partners to show Arsenal TV broadband worldwide.
I am embarrassed to think that crap quality visual image will be exported to innocent fans worldwide.
They should improve the damn signal/transmission first. It’s appalling at the mo’, you have to guess who the players are half the time. Still, another day, another buck for Mr Kroenke!
I’ve not been able to watch the pre-season on ATVO
someone suggested iraqigoals…the VeeTel link has proved to be great
lots of other interesting video content on VeeTel too
Ray in SF,
You are in for a treat. The famous “Rohan” is on his way to the University of Berkley.
Keep your head down because if he spots an Arsenal fan he will talk the hind legs of the donkey, so to speak.
Actually, I’m kidding he is v. knowledgeable and quite amusing, and SF is rather large.
I’ve never heard of Veetel before Ray.
Do you have a link?
Oh Wenger!You keep contradicting your self.I am just staying away from any talk about Arsenal related transfers until it actually happens.Listening to Wenger really makes me sick.
Just an after thought Ray. When you say you weren’t able to watch the pre-season on ATVO, was that because you were out, or you could not receive it?
I ask because there are several posters I know who live in NY, or the Phillipines, or S. Africa who all receive it. (Crap TV picture tho it might be!) In which case SF can’t have paid the electricity check lately.
lol
http://www.tribalfootball.com/newcastle%E2%80%99s-campbell-hits-back-%E2%80%98fat-belly%E2%80%99-jibes-1017191
I am really proud of Frimpong.I hope Wenger plays both him and Wilshere ahead of Diaby and Denilson this season.But we really need reinforcements at the back.Almunia is still the same;he shits all over himself when the ball is crossed into the box.
Last season BigRaddy put me on to liveonlinefooty.com. £1 per day, or £6 two months. It streams, but when one connection fails it automatically finds another. Get it on your laptop wherever you are. Watched Celtic game with Sky and no interuptions from start to finish. Plenty of good games on. All Arsenal games.
Thanks Mickeydi89,
Means I can watch when I go on holiday, for three weeks in September.
Really pleased.
So Saturday was my first time back at the Emirates in two years.
I have been on a enforced self ban where I refused to spend my hard earned cash at a club that was not doing anything with it. I have not been overly impressed with what I have seen on the field, so kept my ban going.
Not quite sure why that changed, but In the end I broke and went back and I am pleased I did (If only to remember what being amongst Arsenal is all about and experience the buzz of it). I only went to the Saturday game, but despite the customary and expected late goal conceded it was a good day out, and given my extended ban, it was the first time I had seen Vermaelen, Chamakh, Kosser and Arshavin in the flesh. Started off in the Gunners where the away boyz were playing (well one of them) and fair play he certainly did get the punters going (The song about John Terry nicely entitled Why Would you go and fuck Wayne Bridges Bird was hilarious).
Also took a punt on seeing what Club Level was all about. The last time I went to the Emirates was a shambles, We queued inside the stadium for 45 mins to get a beer and ended up giving up as the Arsenal game was starting. Club Level is certainly a good way to go if you only make the odd trip to see Arsenal. The Legends Bar in there is spacious and you get served quickly (albeit at V.Expensive prices).
Will I go again this season? Who knows. Living in South Wales now means that it is an expensive day out, and I am still not convinced that the product is tempting enough to regularly fork out that amount of money. Even now I feel a bit cheated and bought the tickets at a time when I expected to see a few more world class signings on show. I am certainly not rejoining any of the waiting lists or membership programs.
One player stood out for me though. Jack Wilshire is looking the mutts nutts. I feel he should be playing regularly for us. He certainly offers more than Denilson does, and despite his height there wont be many PL Thugs kicking him around the park.. He is like a little terrier.
RedArse,
Just don’t rent a house in the Pyrenees with no broadband and no mobile reception for your dongle. I know. I just did!
That’s an impressive dongle you’ve got there, can it pick up tv channels ? Or do you just tell the women it’s only for talking into ?!
Mickey,
I don’t think the Chavs are looking good for the new season.I know it’s just pre-season, but they won 1-0 against Crystal palace, lost 3-1n to Ajax and then have lost 2-1 to Frankfurt.The northern Chavs are actually doing worse.I might just be getting ahead of my self though???
jackie and frimpong are both ahead of our fake brazilian
jackie will go on to be one of the best players in the world, he has that same quality that cesc did coming through
Keyser,
You are awful! But I like you!
What to do with a boy called Keyser? Behave!
Right, have a good evening all. Bye
Beaufour,
Trouble is they are only pre-season games when they are really only training games.
Come the new season, they will be serious contenders!
I really need to improve on my sense of my humour, dongle jokes can only get you so far.
No, no Keyser,
Your humour is good. Certainly hits the spot. Good chuckle.
We are all kids at heart. Well I am!
Anyhoo guys, I am off. Marathon day to day!
Laters.
Nice post Pedro … … … This too is Shambolic
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/08/02/arsenal-skipper-cesc-fabregas-in-tears-over-barcelona-saga-video/
Red Arse
I know they are only pre-season games.But imagine what would have happened if it were Arsenal.People would be killing them selves here.
Newcastle new boy Sol Campbell has branded criticism of his physical condition as “pathetic” and vowed he will be back to peak fitness “in three or four weeks”.
The 35-year-old former England centre-back was labelled “fat belly” on Magpies’ supporters’ message boards after the publication of a less-than-flattering training photograph over the weekend. Campbell accepts he has work to do but claims his current state is no cause for concern.
“It’s pathetic. I had been training for three days – just three days,” Campbell told Soccernet.
“I am three weeks behind everyone else in pre-season. Don’t they know I have just got married and been on honeymoon? I accept that the picture wasn’t flattering, and I do need to catch up on my level of fitness, but the training kit was not very flattering and showed up all sorts of things.
Agreed. Good post Pedro. I like the look of Frimpong… Dare I say it – Even moreso than Song. He is quicker,a celaner tackler and more decisive with the pass. He also does that little “cesc-like” look around before he receives the ball also. That helps with his quick receive and pass.
Walcott is just awful. Putting passes into spaces is one thing but not when you have unmarked men in the box…
JD was at the races again… Loses his man way to easily.
The rest were ok IMO.
God help us if we don’t get a quality CB (or 2) in before the season starts…
Sol Campbell had one too many honey pies….
*cleaner tackler
I’ve always wondered if homeless people understand knock knock jokes
Keyser says:
August 2, 2010 at 17:33
Also considering he’s the right back version of Roberto Carlos, he deserves some slack.
**************************
Are you talking about Sagna? Cuz if you are, you should put down the pipe. Carlos re-invented the full back and has been the best fullback (right or left) for the past 15 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPXOdc1VAuM
i took my sife to a wife swapping party last night. i had to throw in some cash.
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/10/08/02/SOCCER_Barcelona.html
Anyone else ever hear this?
What i really like about frimpong is, he does what he must do and that is fighting and tackle the ball, then give the ball away to the creative players.
I really like wilshere and frimpong.
Oh and if you look this video, then you can see that the referee was totally shit, frimpong has three times that he tackles on the ball and that shit referee blows the whistle.
Some real negatron crap posted today, because we lost 2 late goals in a friendly!. . . Take the positives, another year older/wiser for most and Chamakh, Koscielny, Wilshere and Frimpong into the mix. Wenger looks very likely to add another centre back, possibly a keeper and has indicated that he is happy with the midfield given the fine pre-seasons Frimpong and Wilshere have had. So, assuming a 4-3-3 we have any from RVP, Bendtner, Chamakh, Arshavin, Walcott and Vela up front. Any from Wilshere, Frimpong, Song, Denilson, Ramsey, Diaby, Fabregas, Nasri and Rosicky through the middle. Left backs from Clichy, Traore and Gibbs. Right backs from Sagna and Eboue, and so far any from Koscielny, Vermaelen, Djourou and Nordtveit at Centre back. Any from 4 keepers with another a possibility. That is a very good squad. A CB and a GK and we’re hot to trot. We don’t have to try moulding a group of big names into a team like City, we’re not up to our eyeballs in debt like Liverpool and United and we’re not all approaching 30 like Chelsea. Come on the Arsenal.
yep dutchman – the video shows he clearly knows his job, win it and give it to someone more skilful. every team needs one.
Red
I think Ray meant Veetle. Its the best damn stream I have ever come across. A bit like Justin.tv, but not sure if they show movies and all, only use it for footy related purposes.
Jack
We’ve been hearing ‘we are another yea’r older for 5 years now. As I said yesterday, its not just about the 2 late goals in isolation, this has been happening for the past 3-4 years now with relative regularity.
Yes it happens once in a blue moon with the likes of Chelsea and United, but it occurs a bit more with us, and if we have serious designs on winning the league then it should be happening much less.
i think people are getting ahead of themselves when it comes to fringpong he has alot of potential but he needs to improve on reading of the game and passing alot,i dont there is a chance of going of diaby or delinson yet.he will need work on consistancy.in the prem a dm just about tough tackling you must be able to read the game and distribute the ball something evon song needs to improve alot whcih i dont consider top class player yet.
frimpong does have a lot of potential leon but agree not ready yet
Leon – He may not be a top class player yet but he is already ahead of Denilson for me. He is a different player to Diaby so I don’t compare them. With games I think he can leap-frog Song.
Jack – The flaw in your argument is that it is predicated on us signing a CB and GK. I think most agree with you but are doubtful as to whether we will get the quality CB and GK that we need.
evening
Jack,
fuck me, we have beaten a few shit teams o in the preseason, big fucking deal…
two last ones, not necessarily top quality gave us a run for our money, we don’t have enough depth in CB and our goalies are either shit or not quite ready yet…
Djourou and Nodtveit our saviours? is that your plan?
we need at least two more players, preferably a GK and a CB, but if we sign two CBs, I can grin and bear it as far as GK position is concerned…
Frimpong is nowhere near Denilson or Song, and he’s more similar to Song in the type of player he is, but there’s no comparison to be made yet.
He was busy, strong and kept his passing simple, but didn’t venture forward at all and was naive at times in that he played the ball to feet of players regardless of whether they had time or were under pressure.
At the moment he’s had a couple of good games in pre-season and hopefully he’ll get some competitive games during the season, with us or on loan, but he hasn’t had much of a test yet.
and yes Pedro, spot fucking on!
take a bow son, great post
thats where we’re at jj – saying an 18 yr old is ahead of our established midfielder, I’m not saying you’re right or wrong, but at 18 frimpong would get eaten alive by a 27 yr old essien. That’s where we need to make progress, in the those big games you need big players and that’s why we need established, experienced, athletic signings at gk cb and dm.
zeus – You have to look at the games in isolation and then look for patterns, we played two pre-season games in two days, these games are as much about fitness as anything else, and I don’t think it’s any co-incidence that after being heavily dominant during the games, towards the last 15 minutes or so we started to see mistakes being made.
zee,
IMO, Frimpong may have enough in his locker for the lower tier teams – you certainly will not see much complacency from the young ‘un…
Song on the bench, just in case and we should be OK…
yeh but suga we’re trying (I assume) to close the gap between ourselves and the top two. You wont do that with someone in midfield born in 1992
jj i dont evon consider song to be top class yet so far he had 1 very good season he keep that up,fringpong had few good preseason games not the same intensity of prem were your reading of game but i have no dought with time he will he improve he is only 18.but noone will be bullying him thats for sure
well, if we rotate wisely, we may just keep the most important players fit instead running them into the ground – this is where AW is really clueless IMO…
and if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, simplez…
Erm Jack
We’re in more debt than Liverpool!
But you already know that you dont know what youre talking about.
gambon,
our debt is just stadium related, theirs is not much lower and they still play in that dump, to be fair…
not to say that Jack knows what he’s talking about
Gambon surely you know the debt revenue ratio is much better for us and that’s what really matters. It’s about having a manageable debt.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/the-debt-league-how-much-do-clubs-owe-1912244.html
February data, but still…
Arse:
Turnover: £312.3m
Operating profit: £58.8m
Net debt: £297.0m
Interest payment: £16.6m
A pocket of financial sanity. The club’s 08-09 accounts show the outstanding value of the bonds issued to finance the building of the Emirates stadium at £244.9m. But this is repayable over a 20 to 22-year term at a fixed interest rate of 5.3 per cent. The club is also paying off some of the principal sum of the bond each year (£5.3m in 08-09), which means that Arsenal, managed by Arsène Wenger, will not be saddled with debt indefinitely. The bank loan taken out by the club with Barclays to finance the Highbury Square apartment complex, on the site of Arsenal’s former ground, stood at £137m, with a repayment date of December 2010 and an interest rate of 2-2.5 per cent above the London inter-bank lending rate (Libor). Since then, however, the club has reduced the property bank loan to £47.1m, financed by selling apartments at Highbury Square for a discount. The main financial risk for the club would be a failure to fill the Emirates.
It’s like comparing the debts of a small business and a MNC. The MNC may have loads more debt but it’s likely to affect the small business more.
Mayank,
I agree completely.
interesting to see that all the ‘lesser’ clubs are losing money…
The last line is very telling, and something the board & Wenger cant seem to understand.
i feel when it comes to cb situation tv is certain to be number one and common sense tells me that new signing and dj just comming back they will be most likely 3 and 4,wenger i think will be looking for someone very experienced top class player to compliment the very agresive tv a born leader
gambon,
great minds and all that
Dein said there was no point in having a great stadium without a great team to play in it…
the only true fan on the board, proper football man…
ground looked pretty full at the weekend for a couple of meaningless friendlies, i don’t think that selling tickets is going to be a massive concern for the club
Yes Stu. Bring dein back!
It’s also useful to note how Liverpool got their debt an d Man U as well. Liverpool was mismanagement. Utds case was simply Ferguson not cutting down spending after Utd assumed such a massive deflict from the takeover. Secong highest wage bill and 65m on Nani, Anderson and Berba.
Thing is people assume that if we instate a new manager and spend according to our power we’ll automatically win the league. That’s simply not true. As far as spending go as long as we don’t have a sugar daddy City and Chelsea will always have more.
The basic premise of the assumption that we’ll win by spending is the utilisation of the resources will be the same as under Wenger.
Chelsea despite all their spending didn’t win the PL for 3 years. City couldn’t make top 4!
Oh is it we love Dein time again?
Mayank
UTD debt has nothing to do with Fergies spending.
They are the best run club in the world from an operational standpoint.
Mayank
And youre wrong about Chelsea, that are trying to reach self sustainability. We can easily compete with them.
They spent a lot of money a couple of summers but have been very quiet in recent years.
Of course the debt doesn’t have anything to do with Fergie directly. But when they assumed the debt Fergie decided to run the club like nothing had happened. Doing nothing to reduce the impact. Not at the cost of his legacy at least.
If things take a turn for the worse and Fergie leaves it will be a big task for the next manager to compete. It doesn’t matter how you got the debt but once you have it you have to act accordingly for the future of the club.
Of course their get out of jail free card is their name, when the financial climate picks up they’ll get buyers.
Why is he wrong ? You’d have to see what sort of comparison there is with their spending to ours really.
They haven’t been very quiet, they’ve been quiet in comparison to what they did spend over the first few years Abramovich took over, before that they were still on the point of bankruptcy will all the money they’d spent previously.
They’ve had lesser players willing to come to them, if reports are believed Chelsea were offering 50m for Torres. Hardly anyone comes out and says I’ve always wanted to play for Chelsea. And as for the greedy fuckers who’ll play for anyone they have a Man City bidding higher. The Robinho case was hilarious.
Also, it’s not as if they’ve moved on loads of players, they’ve retained many of the players they bought and it’s why they’ve got massive wage bills.
I don’t even like balancing my checkbook… let alone worry about Liverpool, United or Chelsea’s bottom line.
Though I do like the occasional article about their imminent demise, though it will never happen.
Keyser
Of course Chelsea are being careful with their spending.
In the last 5 years theyve spent very little on transfers.
and our wage bill is not peanuts either…
Man U will get plenty of buyers.
Its not Fergie’s fault that the Glazers bought the club and put the debt back on the club!
In comparison with who ? Citeh ? Or themselves ?!
What I would like to see another top club build a new stadium and see how they fare!
Chavs or Pool.
In comparison to anyone.
Keyser,
thing is that if you win the league and score 103 goals in the process, get to CL final two years earlier and miss another one in the following year only due to a bent ref, you probably don’t need to spend money, do you?
whereas we have gaping holes in the squad and our ‘depth’ is frankly emabarrassing…
Cesc is really getting on my fucking nerves now. He is telling Barca fans he hopes to see more of them in the future,also trying on a green and white shirt dont know who’s that is.50 mil and fuck off.
Heh, yeh right how about to Blackpool then.
Doens’t matter anyway they’ve retained most of the players they bought when Abramovich took over or paid phenomenal wages to players they had from before that.
If this Huang – Liverpool takeover thing happens, I swear, the top of the Prem is going to be like a meeting for SPECTRE.
A Russian Oligarch.
A Chinese “Businessman”.
A Middle eastern Sheikh.
An American “Family”.
all they need is Dr. No to run it.
Maybe we can get bought out by a Dutchman who really really likes gold.