Arsenal bag first signing (two to follow) in attempt to rebuild a winning culture

by .

Lichtsteiner_2

Ok, so lesson learned from yesterday is that no one wanted to shoot the shit with me about famous warlords.

So, today, let’s talk about PLAYER SIGNINGS!

That handsome chap at the top of the screen is our new reserve right back. He’s dropped 250 appearances in Serie A, the most since 2008. He’s the fourth most capped player in the entire history of football played in Switzerland, and he’s one a bucket load of trophies.

Unai Emery had this to say on his first acquisition.

“Stephan brings huge experience and leadership to our squad. He’s a player with great quality with a very positive and determined attitude. Stephan will improve us on and off the pitch.”

Get in son!

I’m excited about his signing. This isn’t some tin pot player like Silvestre, this is a smart defender who has played at the highest level in Europe. He’s played in super complex systems for Conte and Allegri. He’s a winner.

We don’t need him to play more than 25 games next season and that’ll be more than enough. He’s here to help change the culture of the dressing room. He’s here to hold players accountable. He’s here to bring a bit of winning dust to the Arsenal.

The next player rumoured to be joining is Sokratis. The big Greek is coming in from Dortmund after turning down United.

“There was interest from United but he had to wait until July for them,”

“United have a very good relationship with Dortmund, the teams talked but Sokratis chose to go to Arsenal.

Clearly he’s had a word with Mikki about Jose and chosen to be reunited with Dortmund 2.0. Again, the signing isn’t Unmtiti, but it’s a solid one regardless. Forgetting last season, if you read the read ups, people and online magz were talking him up as a hardcore competitor and a good passer of the ball. He’s played under Klopp so he understands the gegenpress. He’s also experienced the madness of Thomas Tuchel and he was the favoured centre back during his first year in charge.  Key with this guy is his leadership, he was the AEK Athens captain at 19. He’s known for unshakeable self-belief. That’ll be much needed at AFC this season.

As Matt and I opined on the podcast last night. Both are super pragmatic signings, but if you look at our business over January to now, it’s not terrible. I’ve read people say we’re doing West Ham like deals… well, I’m not so sure about that. I’m willing to give Diamond Eyes a chance, and as many people that work in and around the club will tell you, Arsenal aren’t that far away from being a very good side.

We have a lot of stars or stars in the making. We have 50 goals in two players in our frontline. We have 20 assists in Ozil if he turns up. We have 15 goals and 10 assists in Ramsey if he can stay fit. Arsenal are trying to do work on the back 5 at the moment. I think Sokratis could prove to be a very solid signing who could help shepherd in Mavrapanos. I think the Swiss is going transmit knowledge into the other players. We’re building in solidity into a starting 11 that didn’t have any balls. I still can’t quite believe we won’t sign a ball playing keeper, that feels imperative for a team that’ll need to play out of the back, but it’s early doors.

I’m also not quite sure about the Fellaini deal. He’s been playing clogger football under Mourinho. I think there are probably additional levels to his game. But you can’t help but look at him coming to Arsenal as anything outside hiring in a professional piece of shit-housery. Still, worth noting that he’s 29 years old, he’d be free, he’d do a very specific job for us and United and Juve are both interested. He’d be great off the bench, he’d be great away in tough games and he’s given our midfield something it doesn’t have in terms of size and strength.

It’s also notable that we’re hiring in players like Yacine Adli. If we start to build out the youth team with players who can push within a season or two, we have our succession plan for the old players that’ll be retiring in 3 years. Key here is the players have people they can learn from. Our young players have been left to rot in a zero coaching setup. Now they’ll be learning from the staff and players. They will be held accountable and pushed like never before. That’s a smart strategy.

It’s clear the club is trying to change the dynamic of the dressing room, and their clear goal for next season is to make top 4 so they can invest proper money in elevating positions.

I can get behind that plan. We need incremental wins. We’re not going to be able to challenge from the league in the first year. We have to be real about where we are as a club, and how much work needs to be done.

This is pure play pragmatism. We are in a three-year plan. This isn’t going to be tika-taka football all the way. The club are addressing spirit, culture and the glaring lack of know-how left by Arsene Wenger.

Basically, shut up and support the new post-Wenger infrastructure.

Right, listen to our return podcast because it is SO GOOD and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.

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DM

DM again

DM

Let’s go for 2nd too

grooveydaddy

4th

DM

…and tr4phy

qna

While Lichtensteiner May be underwhelming that is only due to his age. On a free transfer, I am not going to complain with this one. If this is a move to allow us to sell Chambers in order to reinvest then I think it’s a good one. Time will tell. Licht was an absolute fun player. If only we could have signed players like this 10 years younger. Fellaini on the other hand is a joke. He is a mediocre player. He was at Everton. He is at United. He will be at Arsenal. The only justification I can see… Read more »

qna

*gun player ffs

Andrew Knox

I’m finally excited about Arsenal again after years of abject apathy!

qna

Lol. Yaya wants to play for a top 6 EPL club for £1/week to prove Pep wrong. Unfortunately we just signed our quota of 35 year olds.

Sad ending for this guy. Nothing like aging disgracefully.

Leftsidesanch

Yaya’s always good quality for a LOL nowadays

GillespieRoadNoMore

Feeling excited about next season for the first time in years, the signings are strategic, timely and informed rather than some of the last minute panic signings we were used to under Wenger. Kim Kallstrom anyone?

A few more new faces to put some spirit and fight into the squad looks to be the order of the day, hopefully a new Goalkeeper is top of the list.

Am hoping the Fellaini story dies a death – whilst he serves a purpose he is a player who really has lucked out on being signed by David Moyes all those years ago.

Bamford10

Yeah, I too like the Lichsteiner signing. I think this is about improving the level of experience and the mentality within the squad, esp. in the defense. It’s a free as well, so it doesn’t cut into what we can do on the transfer front. I continue to think Bellerin can be a solid defender, but he needs instruction, guidance and higher expectations.

DaleDaGooner

Wenger gone…banter is still here though! Fellaini?? LOL even Lichtensteiner is banter…lol 34 year old RB, Bellerin isn’t even moved

JAMES WOOD

All i am seeing with these signings is Stabilization.

This is how far we have declined.
Im right behind Emery.
But he’s hands are seriously tied.?

DaleDaGooner

Yaya Toure is linked, Zlatan linked too, Iker Casillas linked too….lol

DaleDaGooner

Feeling excited about next season for the first time in years, the signings are strategic, timely and informed rather than some of the last minute panic signings we were used to under Wenger. Kim Kallstrom anyone?

Right…lol

DaleDaGooner

If anything at all, we can see that Kim Kallstrom was a club signing not Wenger signing….it looks like we’re still bargain hunting….

Eduardo

“Basically, shut up and support the new post-Wenger infrastructure.”

Hear, hear!

DaleDaGooner

He’s here to hold players accountable. He’s here to bring a bit of winning dust to the Arsenal.

LOL…had Wenger signed this bloke, i know what people will say. He’s here to hold players accountable? or keep his account stable?

Guns of SF

The more I think about it, the more Licht seems like a “Intangible” signing. Bringing in leadership in the back line. Clearly the team knew there were no experienced heads to help in this matter. Not even that arse Per.
So he will not play much, but mostly be a voice behind the scenes with the team and the defense… so lets see what happens… could be good.

Still not happy at no real signings into the first 11

UTarse

Man city and Manure shop at Harrods
Liverpool and Chelsea at Harvey Nichols
Spurs at Selfriddges
Arsenal at TK Maxx

HighburyLegend

“We have to be real about where we are as a club, and how much work needs to be done.”
Amen to that.

Some of the Grovers here don’t seems to want to face the real “state” of the club right now…

HighburyLegend

… And they wants Arsenal to become a giant again, right here, right now…

HighburyLegend

(By just slapping fingers ??)

Guns of Hackney

Errr…

A 34 year old back up, right back.

Possibly another united reject (why don’t we learn).

A 30 year old defender.

I hate this word but…banter. Arsenal are bantering.

We have 50 goals from the front two…I doubt it, but okay. Where will the other 30/40 goals come from to be up there challenging for the big places?

Top four? No. Emery isn’t that good…a prime Ferguson couldn’t pull this garbage into a squad that could make up two places in the league.

Bantz.

loyika

Funny how everyone is upbeat about signing that if they were done like 3 or 4 seasons back the same peeps will be screaming at the roof top and tearing out their hair. We human beings are such a funny lot. Reminds of how Fox News is now all into a Prez whom if you followed their coverage can do no wrong while a few years back the Prez was the enemy of the state. The opposite view points can be said of CNN. For me the thing to look forward to is to see how the squad adjusts and… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Why not sign Evans for the Lolz?

Jageilka!

Solomon Kalou?

Man alive…we finally slay the demon and then we replace that madman with the count of Bantachristo!

This club…SUCKS.

WengerEagle

Like Lich signing, as others have said makes perfect sense as he’s a reliable back up to Bellerin, adds tonnes of experience and the guy is a winner.

Not so mad on the Sokratis one though, get the impression that he’s our marquee CB signing. Average player imo and nearly 30.

Ion, Wolves apparently dropping £35 million on a RB! Completely mental even though Cancelo is quality.

Would have thought that spending that kind of dough for a promoted club would be better served towards getting a goalscorer or a CM, not a piece like a RB.

Bamford10

With some of these takes, you’d think the summer window had just closed. To be clear, the window closes on August 9th, more than two months from now. I think a little “let’s wait and see” is called for at the moment.

Guns of Hackney

We have to make up 12 points or four wins to get into fourth based on last season. That’s assuming that Chelsea, spurs, Liverpool, man united and city all have stinkers. Or combinations of the above.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Pius

Our front line is OK. Let’s concentrate on the midfield and the defence

WengerEagle

Hang on a sec, August 9th TW closes?

Since when? Why they change it.

Guns of Hackney

Peter

We finished 12 points off fourth. That’s a big improvement to hope for.

My concern is that three seasons out of the CL could be catastrophic.

I would have been more excited if Arteta had the job…something tells me things would have been a bit different.

I just hope Emery can somehow pull a kaiser Sose on the league.

WengerEagle

Hardly a foregone conclusion Pedro, sure City won’t repeat a 100 point season again in a hurry but 90 points always wins you the PL and they’re definitely good enough to finish with that.

Banking on a United collapse as well is wishful thinking.

Guns of Hackney

Peter

Agreed. That was exceptionally poor even for arsenal. However, the fact remains to make up the 12 point gap is massive. How you get them is irrelevant. It’s still four wins.

I’ve said it before but the opening fixtures will make or break our season. If we start hard…yuk.

WW

fellaini ???? surely not.
maybe emery is a magician , like the late great brian clough that can turn donkeys into racehorses….

HighburyLegend

“I would have been more excited if Arteta had the job…something tells me things would have been a bit different. ”

Different, I don’t know… A bit too “friendly” about trainings, that’s for sure.

Bamford10

Maybe I got the August 9 date wrong. I just quickly Googled it. Is it normally September 1?

WW

doom and gloom?.
hey wake up!!!
the biggest brake on the arsenal machine was wenger…wenger is no more, the machine will roll and pick up speed.
Wenger gone =squad 20% better.

Guns of Hackney

Peter

We need to avoid the top five in the first few games. But as we now know, the PL “rig” fixtures so expect us to draw a city, or Liverpool in the opening three games.

If we can get some confidence we may have a chance to get a few points on the board…hopefully.

HL

If Arteta has the job, Gooners would be so shocked, they wouldn’t be fretting about the signings.

Bamford10

Nope, it looks like the window closes (for signings) on August 9. You can sell players, though, until August 31. No idea why they changed this (if they did in fact change this).

raptora

Nah, Bam you got it right. They changed it because players were not playing with their mind straight because of all of the speculations around if someone is getting sold or bought. Makes perfect sense to me and I like that change a lot. It does, however, put the EPL in a handicap to other leagues where they will be able to make transfers after the EPL’s window for buying players has closed but the selling window will still be open up until 31 August which is pretty weird in my eyes 17 May – Transfer window opens for the… Read more »

Samesong

Teams actually voted for the TW to close on August 9th

Samesong

signings that is.

Leftsidesanch

It is Aug 9 I think

Sancho Monzorla

I don’t understand all this complaining. The expectations of some people from the club just because Wenger is gone now is a bit incongruent, we’re suddenly supposed to buy premium stars only at all positions? It’s a backup right back on a free.

I fully expect to make top 4 with this squad, a few additions and new management. City, Liverpool, Arsenal, United. Something like that.

Leftsidesanch

Windows also been open since last month. I’m gonna hope that we address our needs with good quality. Too young to be complaining about everything I’ll leave that to my older folk here 😉

Sancho Monzorla

Lol imagine an August 9th deadline over the past few years.

Mfaber

The argument that these seasoned vets of yester-year will somehow inject this team with confidence and a winning mentality is just strange. If that were true that the job would have been done with Cech. Instead we went backwards and turned Cech into a gibbering wreck… Buying experience players is just more corporately, marketing rubbish designed to spin us so we are happy with yet more dross. Emery is supposed to be the experienced head with words of wisdom and healing, etc. … The reality is that WINNING football matches injects teams with confidence , not having a wise old… Read more »

Redtruth

Experience (Cech, Lichtsteiner) is code for shit…..

Buckhurst gun

Tfer window closes before 1st game of the season that’s why it opened earlier , has to be open for 12 weeks or something

Guns of SF

Hah redtruth~!

Guns of SF

I think the team thinks – minor tweaks here and there and we will get back into CL
I think this is wrong.
We do not need anymore players that cannot make an impact in the first 11.
Sokratis ok… lets see how he does. Lich is a back up.

Fuck man…. smelling like a wenger stench coming from the club.
They should know… team morale is at its LOWEST fucking point.
Emery was an optimistic signing for most of us… but we cannot FUCK UP this TW…

Buckhurst gun

https://youtu.be/01WRqlxq2Pw

Licht first interview

China

Regarding the keeper, I think way too much is made of ball playing abilities in recent years Of course it’s better to be comfortable with the ball and play decent and smart short passes. No doubt about it. But the reality is that 95% of keepers are piss poor with the ball at their feet and it’s marginal gains that you’re getting from the remaining 5% who can. Keepers need a load of ability and playing ball is absolutely the lowest priority of them all. Lehmann has dismal distribution with his feet and that arsenal team was basically useless in… Read more »

E54_

“Basically, shut up and support the new post-Wenger infrastructure.-Pedro” This is part of the problem though. Arsenal fans don’t make the club or those in charge EARN our support. Who is Emery? Who is Gazidis? for Arsenal fans, who have supported for 30+ years, who are those men for us to just GIVE our support without seeing any concrete progress? Yes great thankyou Gaz for shifting Wenger. ok great, but don’t get to cocky as if sacking wenger means any and everything you do from now will just get a pass. https://www.whoscored.com/Players/26820/History/Aaron-Ramsey “We have 15 goals and 10 assists in… Read more »

E54_

is insincere*

Damn, almost perfect 🙁

China

Guns, the odds of us drawing city or liverpool specifically are of course long, but the odds of us facing a top 6 team in any given match are high. 5/19 opposition teams are top 6 teams, and For each match you don’t face one, the odds shorten for the next time I’m not convinced there’s any evidence of us getting played by schedule fixing in the past. If we played all the top 5 one by one for the opening games even that may not be a disadvantage because if we survived that horror run we’d then have open… Read more »

Up 4 grabs now

Can we make up 12 points? Possibly, we dropped 16 points from a winning position last season. And most of those were games we were winning with 20-25 minutes to go.

Fourth is the target but we won’t make it playing Xhaka, and we won’t make it unless our defence tightens up.

Let’s hope litch can teach bellerin to sit back and you know actually defend!

Pierre

Goh
“We need to avoid the top five in the first few games. But as we now know, the PL “rig” fixtures so expect us to draw a city, or Liverpool in the opening three games.”

Actually, the opposite may be better this season due to the fact that other teams have many more players away for the world cup than we do.

We could catch them cold early on.. Emery will have a couple of months before the season starts to gel the team and I’m sure the team will be better prepared than previous years.

englandsbest

Wow! Real intelligence and forward planning is back again at AFC. No illusions either: when it comes to the big, big names, count us out. No one there is spinning yarns about matching Bayern, or competing with Man U for Mappe. Football is unpredictable, but next season is shaping up as the most competitive ever. Is there room for us in top 4? Certainly, A much tougher bunch will emerge, one not solely programmed to attack, one geared to give nothing away. Duller football, no more beautiful game? Maybe. Do I care? Not a jot. Football is about winning. Anybody… Read more »

mano'gunner

A lot of arguments here are forgetting that the team played under Wenger in a guidance-free, systemless system.
I believe we will see improvement from the same players with Emery.
Just look at the Liverpool squad. Those players would’ve been shite under Wenger as well.

BacaryisGod

I love the idea of signing YaYa for a dollar!!! Put him in at CB for Europa and Domestic cup games.

The dollar amount made me think how long ago it seems that we offered that plus 40m for Suarez. The transfer window has changed that much that we thought that offer would get the job done!

Edd

With the kind of signings we are being linked to i am already dreading the new season but I choose to be optimistic and assume the new guys in charge have a plan and implement it.

Graham62

Picture a bottomless pit. Throw into this pit an endless supply of demotivated, disfunctional and disallusioned players, inept tactics, garbage decision making, delusional concepts and boring and predictable rhetoric and, only then, will you realize just how far Arsenal have sunk over these past ten years.

Lichtsteiner is a smart recruitment. A valuable addition and will be a major asset to the team/club.

The doom merchants just don’t get it.

Bravo Emery and the recruitment squad.

Graham62

A model professional who has the physical capabilities of a 26 year old.

@englandsbest

Define “duller football”. Dull football to me is being able to predict conceding a goal ten seconds before it actually happens.

Artistic impression is pointless if you can’t display technical/tactical merit.

Wenger is dead.

Long live Emery!

Marc

Up4grabs

“can we make up 12 points?”

Well we lost matches away to Leicester, Newcastle, Brighton, Swansea, Bournemouth, Watford and Stoke as well as drawing with West Brom, West Ham and Southampton. 3 more goals scored / 3 less conceded against the draws and it’s 6 points. I think we could comfortably make up the 12 points with last seasons squad with just a bit more organisation. That’s without any tweaks or additions.

Graham62

Edd

You do realize how far we have sunk over the past few years?

Cheer up, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Marc

Graham62

Some of the idiots who post on here haven’t followed the team long enough to realise that the 97/98 team already had a group of personalities / leaders in it that Wenger added some flair (and a bit more grit) to. Adam’s, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn etc etc passed on this to the likes of Veiria, Pires, Henry etc etc.

Adding in a bit of personality even if short term isn’t a bad thing especially if it’s not costing much.

S Asoa

Yacine Adli going elsewhere. Looks like Arsenal are still pointer top dogs

Graham62

Marc

Exactly!

Forget going back to the 97/98 team, I go back 50 years.

Believe me, I have seen enough personalities and winners in that time as well as a great deal of dross.

Wenger may have built something special, but, over the past decade, he systematically dismantled all the positives he created because of his inabilties to act on the obvious.

We need personalities and Emery seems to be acting on this.

Hooray!

Do One Gambon

Bamford

I believe the window was changed in England only after a clubs vote for it so the window closes before the season starts.
Good move IMO. What you start the season with is what you got until Jan.

Stops a club like city losing a Jesus through injury and then throwing 80mil at a replacement just because they can

Marc

S Asoa

Where did you hear that?

There was a story in the Metro over here a few days ago but all the other sources I’ve seen have stuck to him moving to Arsenal.

Marko

He’s played in super complex systems for Conte and Allegri.

Yeah RB in a back 5 is pretty complex stuff

Marko

If anything at all, we can see that Kim Kallstrom was a club signing not Wenger signing….it looks like we’re still bargain hunting….

Nope Wenger all day long Kim admitted it said he was shocked after the whole broken back thing

R.S.P.C.Arsenal

Is Ronaldinho available on a free ?

He would teach them winning habits

loyika

All this “we need personalities” stuff is just laughable? So a top name would not be a “Personality?” Why are Madrid going for a Neymar? Does he not fit the profile of a “Personality?” Other clubs buying players, are they not buying personalities. Our team is not as shyte as many are making it seem. We had a shyte season like some teams usually do, but the players are not crap and the sky wasn’t falling on the Arsenal Mansion. Emery is definately not some saviour coming to rescue us from Satan, he is simply a football Manager that has… Read more »

R.S.P.C.Arsenal

It’s different management but the same service from Arsenal

17 year old French lad says noi

McBright is Wright

welcome Stephan#!!

Graham62

loyika

“Emery is definitely not some saviour coming to rescue us from Saturn”

True, but after 10 years of being sucked dry of all trust and belief, it certainly feels wonderful to be looking forward to something, rather than take for granted that, under Wenger, nothing will ever change.

Jamie

I’d take Yaya on a pay-as-you-play deal over Wilshere all day long.

Champagne charlie

What’s the deal with Spprting fans attacking their own club at the training ground?

Only read dribbles on Twitter… who’s up to speed on that? Some absolute bollocks about Carvalho/Martins buying themselves out of their contracts etc..

Huh..

Marko

I heard Sporting were willing to let Carvalho go for free but I assumed that it was meant as free to find a club. They have some brilliant young players lets fleece them.

Guns of SF

Licht is now Bells tutor. An expensive one too

loyika

@ Graham I doubt any fan is not looking forward to the change (whether with fear or optimism) What I am saying is the BoD should give Emery the needed tools to help him deliver on the mandate set. I am happy he is not making wholesale changes and I’m looking forward to see how the players respond to his methods. My only gripe is the Club acting as if we can go for 1 (or even 2) top tier players (stole the “tier” line from Perdo) to complement what we already have. The whole club needs a bit of… Read more »

R.S.P.C.Arsenal

Dicks gonna need time to settle
But S@M need to involve him in transfer targets not just buy and lumber on him.

LeMassiveCoq

Count of Banterchristo…

Massive lols.

LeMassiveCoq

Absolute scences at the Emirates. Zidane on a free

Cesc Appeal

There is no Wenger, there are now football brains at the club sharing power, there is a new manager and new coaches. So far the targets seem underwhelming but firstly, we have no idea how true some of them are and secondly, I am willing, with the above mentioned, to see how this summer plays out. The context of the summer is missing. Let’s say we get Fellaini in on a free as well, disappointing, but not if he is just a free acquisition to bulk the squad options off the bench and we land a Torreira or something similar.… Read more »

Receding hairline

It’s the Sven and Emery show…with Raul and Gazidis as accessories to the crime.. Let’s just see what they cook up when the window ends.

Stop looking at what other clubs are doing…Or do u think we should have also signed Fred?

alexanderhenry

As a squad bolstering, physically strong, experienced pro, i’m quite into the idea of Fallaini at Arsenal . I always liked him when he was at Everton.

He’s a tough guy and we don’t have any of those at the moment.

Marko

Stop looking at what other clubs are doing…Or do u think we should have also signed Fred?

He’s an excellent midfielder

Marko

Alex people are only saying positive things about Fellaini because he could sign for us. Ask any Arsenal fan two months ago would you like us to sign Fellaini and I’d say that it’d be met with universal condemnation. He’s a dirty cunt and he’s kind of shit. I literally can’t picture where we’d use him. Who would he replace?

Silverhawk

Why is emery called dick?

Sancho Monzorla

Fellaini is obviously Giroud’s replacement.

Marko

Fellaini is obviously Giroud’s replacement

That’s the only logical reason for him in any team really. He contests headers.

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