Nakhchivan restaurant, Baku, for FINE meats
It is official. Mikhi is out of the Europa League final. UEFA is kind of OK with a bit of casual racism, providing it’s putting football in countries that haven’t seen it at a high level before.
Smells bad people. Like your grandad’s nappy on a warm summer day. But are we surprised? Football’s governing bodies don’t care for anything outside cash money. FIFA literally let Qatar use slaves to build stadiums, their underlings were hardly going to buck scuzzy trends were they?
But what are Arsenal going to do about it? Boycott the game? Don’t be silly. There’s £80m riding on this match, that’s a lot of sparkly players, which is really all most British people need to forget any sort of human rights abuse questions, right people?
We were all pretty hunky dory about Silent Stan and his cute cowboy hat in the beginning— 10 years of soul destroying stagnation later, @JackMatchaBrew from St. Albans who is a disciple of beans on toast and a keen collector of vintage Panini stickers, is literally BEGGING for a man who allegedly threw an enemy in a vat of battery acid to take us out of our misery with a £190m investment in better players. We are a fickle bunch (but Jack, between me and you, I’m with you #GiveHimASeat).
It’s also a bit weird to lose your mind about this incident and be totally cool with that small sponsor from a certain country on our sleeves. I’m not saying Rwanda is a bad place, I’m not critiquing the wonderful people like an ignorant westerner, but Big Paul K, literally the Leo Messi of army generals, hasn’t exactly been Nelson Mandela of late (important read). A lot of good has gone on, no doubt, an OUTRAGEOUS turnaround job (think Rangnick taking RB from Div 4 to the Bundesliga), a progressive policy on plastic, an inviting hub for investment… but, as you’ve read, it’s not all great. 99% of the vote went to him in the last election, that kind of not great. We are taking money from a sponsor that might not be as classy as, say Emirates… no, that doesn’t work either… as say, Paddy Power… shit, they also crush lives… ok, let’s just say there’s a little bit of hypocrisy in calling for Arsenal to take a moral high ground this one time FOR NO BENEFICIAL REASON OUTSIDE FEELINGS.
… but here’s the thing, Vinai’s vision for the club is measured on feelings. If he was really ambitious, he’d shoot for this one big proud moment and take us out the comp. It’d be like the Kap advert, except we’d lose a shit tonne of money. But you know what, he won’t, and that’s my issue with the proud thing. We’re taking money from a strongman and we’ll just do our thing in Europa. I get it, I’d do the same, but my vision for Arsenal wouldn’t have been Tesco Proud Points.
We have to move forward, play the game, and shut the fuck up about all the surrounding bits and let the media start building hype about the actual match. No more sob stories about not being able to afford something expensive. No more petitions. No more crowd-pleasing ‘what we should do’ ideas. We’re playing the game.
So let’s talk about our goalkeeper. Petr Cech, in his last game ever. I think he should get the jersey, it’s the right thing to do, players are also very superstitious and… what?
HE IS MOVING TO CHELSEA AS A SPORTING DIRECTOR AND THE DEAL LEAKED.
To the bench Petr. You’ve been absolutely played here. Now you’re technically a Chelsea staffer, you cannot start.
How. Fucking. Dumb. This reminds me of the time we knew Cashers wanted to leave and we played him over Flamini in the Champions League final. DON’T DO IT AGAIN.
But, to counter, Mr Sarri is apparently the frontrunner for the newly open Juventus job. The Old Lady wants to play sexy football moving forward more in keeping with their flashy new brand, and CFC will let him go for £5m. Nothing like that as a little disruptor, am I right?
I was thinking about using racism against racism for winnertivity… hear me out. So Arsenal fans are good at the whole media thing. Let’s set up a fake Ancestry.com profile of Eden Hazard, make sure that it comes out as 80% Armenian. We’ll seed that news on social meeja using Arsenal fans to disseminate the misinformation like we dish out votes on internet polls. Then we’ll buy a banner plane and fly it over their equivalent of the TSA, it’ll say, ‘ASK FOR HIS DNA AT THE AIRPORT’. We’ll also flyer the city of Baku with well-produced advertising of his REAL nationality.
Hopefully, this will be enough to throw the authorities… he’ll be stopped at the airport. It takes two weeks for DNA to come through, we win the Europa, the WHOLE thing is a banterous scam, and the papers write how we used racism to prove that transfer clickbait is a scam… no… I’m getting mixed up. We used local racism to prove that love won’t help you cross a border. Ok, ok, I’m working on the case study narrative.
Scoff all you like… but do you have a better plan?
Back to Azerbaijan, I nominate Starapraga beer as the choice go-to. Why? Well, their website still uses flash, which is super vintage hipster. It’s a local beer… I found one called Afansa, with a really cool horse on it, but it was made by Carlsberg. This brand appears to be doing very well, stealing market share from the big boys, so it has an underdog spirit like Arsenal in this game.
Have one, and let me know how it goes.
SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS.
Dissenter
How about just keeping things positive and only talk about winning?
Keeping all at the club with a positive mentality about beating Chelsea.
It’s not like the squad has a tough mentality to begin with.
The Aaron Ramsey botched negotiation highlights just how poorly Arsenal were managed under both Gazidis and Wenger. More importantly you have to ask some serious questions about the current Board of Directors acquiescence to how the club has been run in recent years. The club must have known how Ramsey and more importantly his agent would conduct negotiations. Surely they had enough experience of what was going on from the Ozil and Sanchez debacle. Arsenal’s wage structure has been a major problem for a long time, because it was not based on merit. The average players in the squad were… Read more »
Strange how Ozil has gone from a player who created an average 5.5 chances per 90 minutes in the recent world cup , which happened to be more than any other player in that world cup ( including de bruyne, messi, Ronaldo,Eriksen etc) , to a player who only creates probably no more than a couple of chances a game. Taking into account that Ozil at one stage last season was the 3rd most creative player in Europe , I would suggest that for the good of Arsenal football club someone should try to solve this problem. There could be… Read more »
” It will be interesting to see what impact
that will have on both Aubameyang and Ozil whose contracts expire in June 2021.”
Auba will be extended soon I would imagine.
The club will spend every day trying to get Ozil out from now until he goes, which could be this year, could be next etc.
If we give him a free transfer, I think we have a chance of getting rid.
gambon
That may be the case.
However, the real issue is how the club will handle Aubameyang. The club has
made a substantial investment in this player both in transfer fee and wages.
He has been less than 18 months at club but will turn 30 at start of next season.
Are you prepared to take a financial hit on a 30 goal a season player?
I wonder if Utd supporters on Redcafe harp on about how many goals Alexis scored under Wenger and if OGS could just ‘unlock’ his talent once again, they’d climb the table.. Or more likely, they’re all talking about how they should cut their losses and try to push him out on a free (or even sub some of his wages) because he offers next to nothing and his decline has been sharp. Ozil is done, Pierre. You’re the only guy who wants him around. We need him out of the club this summer, you know, for the good of the… Read more »
Emirates
Extend Aubas contract. 4 year deal takes him up to he’s 34.
Then sell him in 2 years as hes about to turn 32.
In this market we’ll get £30m for him at 32.
Ramsey is leaving because he could get more money from Juventus than he could from Arsenal, not because Emery didn’t rate him highly. Emery said glowing things about Ramsey from the moment he arrived and he never stopped saying glowing things about Ramsey. What Emery said in December, however, when Ramsey’s contract issues came to a head, is that ‘players can only play so long’ and ‘players need to think about what is best for them and their family’. His implication was obvious. Ramsey might have to go elsewhere to get the biggest possible payout, and that might have to… Read more »
Bamford
All your analysis is absolutely redundant when you see that Emery very clearly dropped Ramsey down on to the bench for the first half of the season.
Then when he couldnt get any level of performance out of the team he brought him back.
He started 14 PL games all season.
Emery didnt fancy him.
‘Remember , it is about the team not Ozil , Emery or any single player …..it’s the team’
Rich coming from you, everything is about Ozil. Everything to you is about Ozil. Everything to Alexander Henry is about Kroenke and everything to CG is about making more superfluous statements that the previous one.
When will the obvious be accepted? Ozil’s best is long-gone.
As for Auba, sell him now if the offer is high enough, and use the money to bring in the targets Sanhelli talked about.
Change is needed, radical change.
gambon Have you considered that Ramsey wasn’t being played just because his head wasn’t right enough, after the contract negotiations fell apart. I really think people are being too harsh on Raul. Gazidis sowed a lot of confusion into the back room team with the uncertainty of his exit. The club didn’t announce it until September 18th, a fortnight after the transfer window ended. That’s where some of the lack of decisiveness about the Ramsey deal would have come about. The guy in charge was half-way out the door and the new guys didn’t have full authority until the transfer… Read more »
Absolute nonsense to say that Emery didn’t fancy Ramsay. Anybody with half an eye could see he was Arsenal’s most talented player.
It was about the horrific wage policy initiated by Wenger. Paying Ramsay £300K a week would have blown a change of policy to bits.
Same with Danny, Arsenal’s second-most talented player.
“Absolute nonsense to say that Emery didn’t fancy Ramsay. ”
So why did he start 14 out of 38 PL games this season?
If we could get over £15m when we sold Giroud when he was over 30… we can definitely get a more for Auba when he’s 32… as long as he stays injury free… and productive.
I’m not expecting him to get anywhere 30 goals next year but if he scored 20+ for the next two years.
I wish we tried harder to sell Welbeck and kept Giroud though… am I the only one?
*if he scored 20+ for the next two years it would be a good return for what we paid for him… remember he’s our record signing.
Gambon
I wish it was as simple as you suggest.
The real problem with transfer market today is that everyone knows that Arsenal are a soft touch when they want to get rid of players.
Frankly I think that Arsenal will land up this summer offloading 8 players,
but none of those sold will fetch the sort of transfer fees that too many posters
on Le Grove expect us to receive.
Aubameyang and Lacazette are probably the only two players on our books who would command “serious transfer fees” if sold.
Gambon He dropped him after the contract was withdrawn and he had decided to joing Juve, before the January window. Probably so he wouldn’t break down in predictable fashion, strong rumours we were trying to get a fee for him so they would take him early, when that didn’t materialise he started playing again, until he predictably broke down again. The only mistake with Ramsey was not selling him with 2 years left on his contract. That’s on Wenger and Gazidis. Hope we have learnt from that now. Not much leverage with players when they’re down to 1 year, just… Read more »
“I wish we tried harder to sell Welbeck and kept Giroud though… am I the only one?”
No chance.
Auba, Laca, Giroud would be bad squad planning.
3 CFs, none of whom can play effectively outside of the CF position.
If anything we made the mistake signing both Auba and Laca.
Should have just signed Auba in summer 2017, then had Giroud as his backup.
We would have a £50m player elsewhere in the team, or 2 £25m players.
That said, the list of transfer market mistakes in recent seasons has been epic.
‘So why did he start 14 out of 38 PL games this season’
His head wasn’t right after he felt disrespected by the club. The manager may have tactfully stayed out for the fray and told him he could take time to sort out his future…then return.
There had to be some confusion about whether Gazidis would leave or not. This had to have clouded decision making about the Ramsey situation during the transfer window. .
“Frankly I think that Arsenal will land up this summer offloading 8 players,
but none of those sold will fetch the sort of transfer fees that too many posters
on Le Grove expect us to receive.”
Why?
Isn’t this one of the reasons why we brought on board Sanhelli… because he could get deals done?
Gazidas was incompetent… that much is clear now. The fact that we sold Sczesney for £10m to Juventus is laughable. They should have paid £40m at least in the present market!
Ramsey started so few games and yet he still broke down at the end.
There are parts of his game I won’t miss;,the fragility and proneness to breakdown like a soviet era Lada car.
Just listened to part 2 of the interview with Raul and Vinai, with the focus on Raul talking about the football side of things at Arsenal. A few impressions: 1) This was a much more focussed and persuasive outline of how things are currently run, and will be run at Arsenal. 2) Raul sounded very much like Pedro of a few years ago. The club is implementing a modern structure, with heavy use of analytics and (eventually) a Technical Director who will put in place a medium/long term plan for the club. In the meanwhile, there is sufficient coverage from… Read more »
We will get some fairly good money for our players. Certainly more than a lot around here think.
I remember people saying we would have to give Ox and Walcott away. The same about Coquelin.
We got £70m for them.
In terms of values, I would say:
Ospina £3m
Jenkinson £2m
Mustafi £18m
Chambers £20m
Kolasinac £20m or Monreal £5m
Elneny £10m
Mykhitaryan £20m
Words
I too listened to the interview and was taken aback by way it was ridiculed here.
It’s almost like people expect that Rome was going to be built in a day.
We have a system that exist in paper and is only beginning to be tested for the first time.
Mistakes are going to be made and we can only hope that we learn from the mistakes.
Gambon,
Agree with your valuations. We could also add Xhaka (who has stated that he is “ready for new challenges”) at around £30m.
Ospina ain’t going no where for 3 million
He’s been on loan to Napoli for one years and they still won’t buy him.
The best bet is that another club pays his wages this season , when we send him out on loan.
Gambon
I have told you why, Wenger’s wacky wage/contract policy,
Emiratestroller
Dead right, there are only two players who will fetch decent transfer fees, Laca and Auba. I like them both.
My belief is that Stan will stick to his bottom-line policy. That means whatever the outcome of the Europa Final, very little transfer money will be available, definitely not enough to pay for Sanhelli’s targets.
If one of the pair has to be sold, Auba will fetch more, and he’s older.
Dissenter,
I think the ridicule (which I was part of) was focussed on Part 1 of the interview, which to be fair had a lot of PR guff and corporate speak and very little content.
Part 2 is where the meat is.
gambon
Those valuations are largely feasible except for Jenks, Ospina, Monreal and Mykhi
-Ospina- another loan to reduce the wage bill till his contract ends.
-Jenkinson – his contract ends in one month. He’s a Bosman signing for a league two club this summer.
-Monreal is only good for spare parts right now; ain’t worth 500k
-Mykhi’s salary will make it impossible to move him on for profit because we have to pay the balance of the wages. It would be net zero.
I really dont think you will see Xhaka replaced.
Im no fan of his, but he does a very important job in the team.
And if you get rid, you have to replace with better. And in terms of the job he does, its not easy to find better.
There are real “easy wins” in this team, replacing the likes of Elneny, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Mykhitaryan & Iwobi. These are what we need to focus on.
Dissenter
Jenkinson is at the club until 2020
I think someone with give us £1-2m for him this summer.
Leedsgunner
Arsenal’s playing staff are mostly on OTT wages and that impacts on the transfer
fee we are able to collect.
Gambon
I think that you are optimistic in your valuation of both Mustafi and Chambers. As stated above you have to factor in the wages we are paying both these players.
I would be surprised if we get more than £15 million for either of these players
in current market. Both are very average players.
“Mykhi’s salary will make it impossible to move him on for profit because we have to pay the balance of the wages. It would be net zero.”
This isnt true either.
He has the best agent in the business. Also an agent that finally is welcome at Arsenal. He will want to build a relationship with Raul.
£144k per week isnt crazy in todays game.
Words
I think the club did itself a disservice by doing an in-house interview.
They could have sought a friendly Arsenal-tilted journalist like Amy Lawrence.
The interview structure is what I thought was underwhelming.
You’re not going to ask your bosses difficult questions on camera, are you?
“Both are very average players.”
£18m is a very average transfer fee.
This is just a re run of 2 summers ago, when people said we would get nothing for Gibbs, Gabriel, Szczesny, Ox, Walcott, Coquelin etc.
gambon
Transfermarkt.co.uk lists Jenks contract as ending in June 2019. The last year was an option to extend….and of course Arsenal aren’t daft to do that.
Gambon,
I don’t disagree that El Neney , Mustafi etc are “easier wins” than Xhaka, in terms of them being less central to the first team and consequently easier to replace with better. It’s just that he’s said that he’s prepared to move, so if that is in fact true, Raul et al should be looking to realise value and to find a replacement.
You mentioned Iwobi…..how much do you think we’d get for him?
Dissenter
Its definitely 2020.
No,
Jenks is contracted until 2020.
He got an extension of 5 years from Father Wenger in 2015
Also ‘the best agent in the business’ got Mykhi the deal of a lifetime and probably knows that no other club is dumb enough to outdo our stupidity.
The agent is also banned for three months as I believe.
Iwobi – about £20m
I dont think he will go though.
I think he will become a squad player, covering both the wide positions and the number 10 position.
Assuming we sign a new CM/CAM to replace Ramsey & Ozil.
OleGunner,
“Father Wenger” – lol
Wenger probably held two ceremonies for signing contract extensions; a private ceremony were he was dressed as Santa Claus and another where he dressed formally.
If Stan is going to stick to his sustainable financing model, it’s all the more important that we sell off our deadwood expeditiously so that we can have our transfer kitty supplemented by sales for the summer transfer market… especially if we aren’t going to do any meaningful deals in January as far as Raul is concerned.
Gambon Yes your quoted transfer fees are “very average” in today’s market, unfortunately the wages we are paying both players are not. This has been the problem with most of our transfers in recent years. Players like Mustafi and Chambers are no better than better level bottom half EPL Clubs. Chambers was loaned out to Fulham and he did not exactly make a “standout” impact for them. So that is probably his level. Mustafi will probably go to Germany, Italy or Spain when and if he leaves. Do you believe that he will fetch more Gabriel particularly when you factor… Read more »
There’s talk that we are interested in signing Exequiel Palacios, the 20 year old River Plate midfielder to replace Ramsey.
If we pull that one off, it would be a major coup.
London lasses will love him too since he’s already made the headlines for his womanizing ways.
We sold 4 players for less than half of what Liverpool got from selling Coutinho.
Mustafi has a much better name than GAbriel.
Gabriel is a nobody.
I would bet other teams / fans think a lot more highly of Mustafi than we do.
We see the silly mistakes, they probably dont.
Mustafi is basically a good CB that makes horrendous mistakes. Gabriel was not even a good CB in between the mistakes.
He also has very strong stats, so I think we will get rid, then 6 months in a club will realise their error.
As for Chambers, the PL clubs from 8th to 20th have a lot of money these days.
Emirates
Re Chambers, I’ve read a few Fulham blogs (saddo that I am) and I think for a good proportion of Fulham supporters he was their player of the season.
I know it’s not saying much, but I think it’s fair to say he was a “stand-out player” for them. He’s paid around 25k/week so that should not detract from his transfer value
If we’re replacing Elneny with Palacios then I think its a good deal.
Ramsey, not so much.
We really do need someone that can come in and make a big impact. We also desperately need goals from players that arent called Aubameyang & Lacazette.
Palacios is the type of player that could be superb in 2/3 years.
Tielemans for me. Made a huge impact in his half season at Leicester.
Gambon
Gabriel had a decent reputation in Spain before we bought him. He was sold to Valencia for £9.90 according to Transfermarkt.
Chambers is probably on the same level as Coquelin who fetched well below your valuation.
Chambers isnt on £25k per week
Hes been at Arsenal 5 years, signed 2 contract extensions, and has played 83 games for us.
Coquelin was sold for £12.60 million to Valencia according to Transfermarkt.
Gambon,
Re Chambers’ wages, I’ve seen £25k/week quoted in a number of places.
Also seen £50k/week and £70k/week quoted!!!!
Who knows what the reality is. I guess if he stays, or if he goes for a song, the upper end of the quoted spectrum will represent the truth
Crystal Palace bid £20m for Chambers 2 years ago, after a fairly average loan at Middlesborough.
Chambers had very good loan at Fulham. He was their best player by a mile.
I think we should be able to get £20m for him:
1) English
2) Young
3) good PL experience
4) Versatile – can play CB, CDM or (at a pinch) RB
5) Plays with a great deal of commitment (Fulham)
I can easily see a low/mid table PL team taking him on for that kind of price
Gambon
If you can get £20 million for Chambers I would jump at the offer. However, his
current valuation on Transfermarkt is just £12.60 million which is less than Coquelin.
I will be very interested to see how much is offered and accepted by Arsenal should they decide to sell both Mustafi and Chambers + Elneny.
My expectation is that we would realise maybe £40 million for the three players at most, which would cover one decent purchase.
Burnley paid £15m for Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough
Everton paid £27m for Yerry Mina
Leicester paid £19m for Caglar Soyuncu
They also paid £13m for a CB from Zagreb
Bournemouth paid £25m for Jefferson Lerma
West Ham paid £22m for Issa Diop
Brighton paid £15m for Yves Bissouma
Huddersfield paid £18m for Terrence Kongolo
Southampton paid £22.5m for Vestegaard
Fulham paid £22m for Anguissa, and £15m for Alfie Mawson – and CHambers outperformed both comfortably.
We wont struggle to sell Chambers.
“However, his
current valuation on Transfermarkt is just £12.60 million which is less than Coquelin.”
Every player I listed above moved for more than their ‘transfer valuation’
Fulham spent £37m on Anguissa (DM) and Mawson (CB)
Chambers played more than both combined.
Hes a good player, with a good reputation. If he had more pace he would be an Arsenal player, no doubt.
Easily get £20m for him,
Just to reiterate what’s been stated before on here by some about our stature and appeal. Former Barcelona man feels he has plenty “ammunition” in the transfer market when selling us: – And Sanllehi said targets have asked for assurances of what level of European football Arsenal will be playing in next season. “It is something which comes into the conversations,” Sanllehi said. “Fortunately enough the image of Arsenal is strong enough. “Of course the fact we have not been in the Champions League for two years and we’re in question mark now for next season, that’s not helpful.” Sanllehi… Read more »
Gambon doesn’t want to see that Xhaka is a liability for the team defensively. He must think it’s all about the defenders. Replace those and all will be hunky dory. Well no it won’t as long as opposition keep sailing past Xhaka central. I think Gambon must like the idea of the deep lying play maker. So long as he looks alright on the ball then be damned with other areas which make an overall player. I don’t think Xhaka will be going anywhere soon either and whoever just recently improved and lengthened his contract needs shooting but it would… Read more »
Chambers best performances for Fulham was sitting in front of the back four. I think he should deputize for Torriera.
He’s a lot better than Elneny. He can also play CB and RB if push comes to shove. He’s our real utility player,
Personally I wouldn’t sell Chambers.
CC,
Re Raul’s “ammunition”.
He did sound very persuasive – he persuaded this gullible individual (me).
Let’s hope he also manages to persuade a few decent players to come on over to the Arsenal.
Dissenter,
I disagree, but only because Bielik, a (younger) and very similar player who is much more cultured and assured on the ball, is also on our books.
We should integrate Bielik into the first team squad, and realise value by selling Chambers.
CC
Arsenal’s ammunition when we buy is the wages we are prepared to pay.
Unfortunately when we want to sell players that is an obstacle.
Gambon
As I said I would jump at an offer of £20 million for Chambers. However, the
transfer fees you quoted are for players probably on much lower wages.
Let’s see how much additional transfer budget Arsenal manage to generate this summer.
CC
Raul was the deals man for Barcelona. He handled the convoluted Neymar deal and managed not to get charged with any crime.
He knows what he’s talking about, that’s what he’s been doing with his adult life.
I’m pretty sure you haven’t been dealing football business in the back room so he’s more trustworthy than you in this regard.
Elneny should be sold for £10m to £15m and his spot and game time to Joe W.illock. Put those sale proceeds towards a dominant defender or a left back. Another position I wouldn’t waste any transfer funds on is a back up goalkeeper. Martinez has done well on loan and he is hungry to prove himself. If we don’t trust him, sell him. He should fetch £5m. Again, put those proceeds into a dominant defender or a good left back… and promote Ilev. We are linked with a U20 German international on a free… fair enough. Ospina does not want… Read more »
Im not a fan of putting CBs in midfield. They always lack the technique to move the ball around and break lines.
Bielik looks interesting. Really made a mistake sending him to Charlton on loan, shouldve been a higher level loan.
I think we will sell both.
Woab
It’ll be a telling summer, he’s been brought in to achieve such things so his appointment is under scrutiny based on his returns.
Lip service is one thing.
On the Chambers debate…
Don’t see why we couldn’t get 15+ mil comfortably for him, and Mustafi is 25+ mil in my book.
Gambon hit the nail dead on when saying others don’t see some of our players in the manner we do. Chambers has proven himself useful, and Mustafi has still be out most used player this season (which as a selling point to others…).
Words
I know we have had this conversation before.
Chambers has had loans at premier league clubs, Bielik’s Linda have been with league 21clubs.
Who do you trust more to slot In seamlessly if called upon?
They’re re two divisions between Chambers and Beilik.
Part 1 of the interview was ridicule because it was snake oil sales pitch to gullible supporters.
Part 2 has a little more meat, but still light in overall strategy. Nothing in term of deadline/milestone. How many years to be competing for the league? How will the integration of U21 players into the first team take place?
Leeds
I’m not convinced you’ll get Chambers moving to the championship. He’s a decent football with a contract at Arsenal, if he moves it’ll likely be to a PL stalwart like Palace.
Raul looked like someone who’s not accustomed to working in front of cameras. He’s that guy no one sees pulling deals off in the shadows. He needs to work on his presentation skills.
Valentin
Why do we expect that they will spill all the beans on their strategy in front of the cameras?
This is a case of judge them by their actions [or inactions.
Emery can show him the ropes on PowerPoint, hear he excels there
Dissenter,
Re Bielik, in the end it’ll be Raul, Emery and the Technical team’s call. (I know I’ll never be able to persuade you!)
For what it’s worth, Jeorge Bird, whose blog follows Arsenal youth and players on loan, rates Bielik more highly than Chambers….
Champagne Charlie
If Palace was willing to do a deal, I’m all for it. £35m plus Chambers for Zaha would money well spent. Don’t think they will go for it though.
Plus, we should be all over the promoted clubs Norwich, Sheffield United and Aston Villa/Derby with our surplus players. They would be more than interested in EPL experience rich players like Mustafi, Elneny and Ospina.
Valentin,
As an executive listening to an internal presentation, I would expect far more detail and timelines in Raul’s talk.
But it’s fair to say, for a corporate piece from Arsenal’s executive management to the fans, it was very open and reasonably detailed. I’m not sure there are any other comparable executive outlines of strategy at rival clubs that I’ve come across.
Also, TV money is up again from next season.
So mid and lower PL teams will again have more to play with.
Selling our unwanted players wont be too hard.
Gambon,
I think the integrity of your £20m valuation of Chambers is secure – provided he’s not being paid £70k/week as is quoted by some sources!
My take is that Sanlehi/Emery will sell off any of the players they get a decent offer for, and try to get rid of others (like Ozil) for nothing.
The kind of transfer fees mooted by some on here are plain daft, not because the players are not worth that kind of fee, but because their wage demands will be too high.
“Raul was the deals man for Barcelona. He handled the convoluted Neymar deal and managed not to get charged with any crime.”
Brilliant. & his words regarding Arsenal not being a tough sell to the players, its difficult to disagree
If Raul flogs off Mustafi to anybody for over 10mill, we should quit questioning the guy
I said earlier we need to be more decisive with our youth players. This means we need to give them a chance to prove themselves in first team football… but what does this mean? Earlier this year, Emery stated that that he sees to mean firstly, including them in first team training. However, we need to do more than that. We need to play our best youngsters more exposure in cup games so that our main squad is fresher for the EPL and hopefully the Champion’s League. Bearing in mind how W.illock and Nketiah took their chances against Burnley I… Read more »
*he sees this to mean
After seeing the interview, I feel that for the first time in years that they have an actual plan. And if they stick to what they say, I’m expecting to see Ozil, Mustafi and Mkhitaryan leave.
And they made the right call in pulling Ramsey’s contract.
Apparently Emery sends out instructions for the type of players he wants as he’s not allowed to make those decisions off his own back . I would imagine the instructions are along these lines in level of importance. 1) must track back 2)must run, run and run a bit more . 3) not show displeasure when substituted.( If not marginalized) 4) must smile and wave to the crowd when substituted , giving a high 5 to the manager on exiting the pitch.(if not marginalized) 6) must not look confused by the manager’s continual arm waving and gesturing on the touch… Read more »
^^^ utter nonsense above. Your very immature for your age.
Pierre,
Look, we know you don’t rate Emery, and that’s fine.
Bit it’s clear he’s here until next season.
And if there’s no improvement in the team’s performances and results at that point in time, under the new structure, he’s very likely to be out.
In the meanwhile, the players must track back……
Let’s be frank, in the Wenger years Arsenal home-produced Ashley Cole, and pretty much nobody else. Guys like Cesc, Theo, Ox were filched from other clubs. Wenger’s ‘British backbone’ turned out be nothing more than another of his vain boast..
Compare with those he inherited from GG: Adams, Parlour, Merson, etc.
So it’s no surprise that Maitland-Niles, Willocks, Nketiah, etc didn’y get much game-time. Years in the Wenger home producer has thoroughly squelched any natural talent they might have possessed.
Listening to Raul firsthand, I’ll give him this, he is much more convincing and articulate than Gazidas ever was… and he is in command of his brief. It could be still an illusion and just hot air but… I’m willing to see if he backs his impressive words with action this summer. I was encouraged especially at his repeated insistence that building the first team is a year long process, and the transfer window is just a crystallisation of all the preparation that happens beforehand. The absolute opposite of the previous manager…. thank goodness. Although, if this is true, what… Read more »
Sounds to me that there is at least one player who will only come if we have CL football. ST renewals have been delayed until the result of that game as it determines how much renewals will cost. If EL same price, if CL approx 15% more.
A win next week pretty important you would say!
Raul is a football man through and through
When Gazidis discussed football you just got the impression it was hot air from a polished attorney.
With Raul it’s a bit different
It’s nice that the club is at least TRYING to communicate with the fans
Previously Wenger got hot under the collar when asked about how things worked behind the curtains. He would remind you about how many signings he’s made etc to dismiss the interviewer.