Plenty of news out of France at the minute suggesting that we’ve agreed on terms with William Saliba about a move away from St.Etienne. This from Lequipe.
‘The Gunners will now enter into negotiations with the Greens to try to complete the operation. The idea of the different parties is to make a transfer, followed by a loan to ASSE for the coming season. The Forez club could thus finance its mercato, in addition to keeping its player an additional year.’
The reason this signing should excite you is two-fold.
The idea that we’re about to drop sexy money on an 18-year old that we’re not going to have in the squad next season is absolutely massive. It suggests we likely have more than £40m in the kitty, Stan K is buying into the future plan, and that the club is fairly confident of raising more funds from player sales this summer. If this move happens, it’d show we’re future planning at a far more ambitious clip than ever before.
The second part of this move that excites me is that it doubles down the hope that we’re moving towards a smarter model for rebuilding Arsenal. It means that the Dortmund+ vision is where we’re likely heading. That’s exactly how we win moving forward.
I’ve read some folk moaning that this approach is neglecting the short term, but here’s the rub, Arsenal has given a full throttle go at short-termism and it failed. We signed Auba, Lacazette, Sokratis, Leno, Xhaka, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Perez, Welbeck and Kola… at great expense and we didn’t make the top 4.
Short-termism comes at a cost, we bought in players on CL money and now we can’t move them on. We tied players down like Ozil and they’re not motivated.
The last thing we should be doing is giving the short-term game another go next season. It’s not sustainable, it’s dry to watch, and the Premier League is too competitive for that approach to be a smart one when you don’t have buckets of money to throw at the problem.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Arsenal did stabilize last season. Sure, Emery finished worse than he started, but when all was said and done, we only had ourselves to blame for not finishing 3rd. That’s a good set of footings to build from. If we ship out the bad eggs, replace with capable young players with high ceilings, and rebuild the departments surrounding the manager with people that share Arsenal values, blended with a true winners mentality, we could be on course for improvement next season.
I’m being very hopeful here… the main angle I want to get at is that Edu is going to come armed with ideas, energy and a fresh footballing philosophy. Hiring in like Sevilla this summer would have been a disaster for the next manager. Next season should be a speedy assessment of infrastructure weaknesses, with an action plan for a rebuild. The recruitment seems to be off to a good start, let’s just hope Raul keeps things focused on elite youth so the transition to the next person is smooth and cost-effective.
The manager leaving shouldn’t break the club… hopefully that’s what’s being put in place.
Remember, 5 years ago Spurs and Liverpool were behind us on the pitch, as brands, and financially. Now look at them! We could have some of that, but the building has to start now. Saliba, Claude, Schubert and bringing back the kids is where we should be heading… very exciting if true.
We’re being linked to Kimpembe. He’s on Neymar’s shit list. He’s a good player, he’s young, could be an interesting move as PSG look to offload talent.
Even more exciting? David Ospina is nearly gone… feels like he’s been here so long, he should be landing a testimonial? Right? He’s like that one guest at the end of a house party, ‘shots, shots, shots’, no David, you just pissed all over the toilet seat again and you’re wearing my wife’s bra on your head. Time to go matey.’
One man I’d like to do shots with at a house party with is Steve Bould. He’d be doing them from fish bowls telling a crowd of people he’s not down with gender pronoun bollocks, ‘you are what you are, and while I’m here, gluten-free, fucking bollocks is what that is.’ I’d never tell Steve I drink oat milk. Not worth the aggro.
Anyway, he’s swapped roles with Freddie. I think the move is very simple, Steve Bould wants to coach and there’s probably not a lot of opportunity to do that under Emery. I like that he’s been kept in the club, he’s a great personality to have about the camp and he’s a legend. I’m also very excited about Freddie, I’ve heard interesting things about how he is, clearly hugely ambitious, has had a good stint with the kids, so it all looks very positive. Unai apparently has a thing about making sure anyone he hires outside his group of buddies can’t have any hair. It’s weird, but what can you do?
Can someone get me the odds on caretaker manager Freddie?
On that sexy note, I’ll see you in the comments x
Sorry and Dani Cabellos
RH
Why hide the facts?
DissenterJune 17, 2019 14:53:34 What happened to Mavros?There was never extra-special potential there. The people playing the hyping tunes based on 1.5 competitive games have all gone quiet about the lad. Why are we signing 18 year old defenders when we have Mavros? Isn’t he supposed to be that good? *rolling my eyes* jeez louis! So cause we’re signing Saliba/or not signing Saliba, makes Mavropanos not good enough? Why don’t you wait and see what the plan is before you trash him? Lad has been injured since Wenger, he was good against a better United the one game he played,… Read more »
CG you must be over the moon with Freddie now
You can definitely thank Wenger for deciding we don’t need to keep improving every single summer tw… seriously who goes a whole summer and buys Elneny and Cech.
We are still paying for the consequences of that. What you do now impacts you 3 years from now and you can’t afford to take a summer off.
Lolz.
We’re signing (“maybe”, this is Arsenal remember) some non entity and we’re losing our collective minds. Real have signed Hazard…probably a player that could win them the CL. We’ve not even signed a player that could earn us an extra point over the season.
I’m not saying what we’re doing is wrong, it’s where we are as a club, but hold the phone.
Also, Peter…stabilise? That’s a mad flip flop. Emery was a disaster. A better manager would have ensured they got the points needed to qualify for the CL. Would Ferguson have capitulated, not on your Nellie.
Dale
I didn’t even notice you were gone. Glad to know you still disagree with me about everything bar Iwobi.
Listen…I don’t rate Mavros and I’ve never held back my opinion about him. He’s a third rate defender we picked up from the Greek Division 2 and was never elite to begin with.
I hope he proves me wrong.
DissenterJune 17, 2019 17:41:12
Dale
I didn’t even notice you were gone. Glad to know you still disagree with me about everything bar Iwobi.
lol, because your presence here everyday is so the in thing…..lol
Unless Saliba is the next Cannavaro, I don’t see the point in splurging good part of our transfer budget on him and still not having him at our club for next 12 months.
Guns of SF
If we get as many Invincbles in and around Arsenal – you watch us Take Off.
The Momentum will be unstoppable……
There would not be a smidgeon of negative energy around the place….
We would all be united.
We would be Arsenal- fit for the 21st Century!
And Ready to……..
Today we moved a small step to this Utopia!
I believe Raul is doing all the pushing CG.
Dale
I laugh when people talk about others having a “presence here everyday”
I’m on the other side world typing on a keyboard for a few minutes a day, hardly qualifies for living here.
Why don’t you jog along and disregard my posts since they are so odious to you.
Yeah I think I’d give Ceballos a go for sure at the right price and/or Llorente as well.
https://twitter.com/Cechque/status/1140576781415542784
LOL
Elnenny should have been sold on weight….
He’s lost value now since hair cut..
6m
I doubt we’d be spending a good portion of our budget if we’re then not getting him for a year. It’ll probably mostly be deferred. It’s a good signing I don’t know why people don’t get it. It’s one of those rare examples where we’d be getting ahead of the transfer market. You’re talking about someone who is likely to be one of the best young CB’S in Europe in the next few years. Not too dissimilar to Atletico getting Gimenez or Real getting Varane when they were 18.
Tr 7
I agree
If you have bought you own..
Leads to a lot of whatbif.. questions…
Also the unless Saliba is the next Cannavaro we should forget it is a bit silly. Do you not see us?
Graham
The bangs looking good…
322 second highest we run chase.
Marko
Clearly being away from the comments section has impinged your memory.
If we sign a player they are rubbish.
When another team signs a player they are great.
R.S.P.C
A TV audience of over 1 billion watched the India v Pakistan game yesterday.
Incredible!
“Tottenham will have to pay up to £63m to land their number one summer transfer target Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon.
Sky Sports News understands negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing, although a deal is not close to being agreed.
The versatile midfielder, who cost Lyon just £7m last summer, is currently on holiday and will take that time so consider his future before deciding on his return in July. “
This is why I’ve cut Emery so much slack this year. _________ I agree with your post Cesc… but I was also willing to cut Emery some slack too until he completely screwed up the end of our season… That’s just unacceptable… It wasn’t like we were playing Bayern or Barca… either. CP, Leicester, Everton… etc.. . and he got completely out managed by Sarri in the EL final… didn’t make any adjustments at halftime and Sarri did and cleaned our clock. Sarri a manager with one foot out the door and half their team already on summer vacation. I’m… Read more »
Dissenter
Don’t hold back your opinion on Mavropanos, but certainly holding back your opinion on what makes us in a “major ditch”. Funny that
But I’m sure you’ll dip in and out to enlighten all on how Leicester will crack top 4 inside two years eh. Reducing yourself to a perennial one liner, absolutely no depth in what you have to say.
Loving the under 21 championship. The level is of a high order. You’re talking about highly rated players on the cusp of the senior team who want to leave this particular level with a trophy. Last night you had Chiesa, Kean and Aaron Martin impressing and here now you’ve got Milenkovic, Jovic and Hannes Wolf on show
Can Freddie please paint a red stripe down the middle of his head?
You know it makes sense.
Graham
I know
Did you see some of the ads between,…
Good selling of air space for a target audenice.
James. W Yes. (Same)…. Which tells you- Why we have Emery In charge as opposed to Arteta.( not a patsy) You watch Raul Drop him ( Emery) like a Stone. (Deep down – he has total disdain for him) Who doesn’t? Mark my Words -Raul will be absolutely furious- Emery flunked 2 Golden opportunities for CL Soccer and the £100 bounty. (Emery basically embarrassed Raul in front of Stan and Josh).. Think Mafioso… Think Godfather 2 Think Carlitos Way. From now on. This ain’t a working duo between Raul and Emery. It’s just The Raul show. Emery is an irrelevance.… Read more »
Yep, those arguments certainly know how to find you.
MidWest
I agree with you.
He deserves a lot of criticism for that end of season collapse.
I don’t really go along with Pedro moaning about Emery not being the right man to carry us forward on this new model because I don’t think he will be here.
I think the club will look at a Nagelsmann or Vieira either for next season or the one after that once they feel as if the squad, infrastructure and finances are under control.
This job would have been way, way too much for any rookie or anyone of inexperience.
Sorry when I say next season I mean 2020/21 or the one after 2021/22.
Marko Deferred payment point holds no weight. Just as we will be paying Saliba’s transfer fee in tranches, we will also be making payment for signings made in last 2 or 3 seasons (Auba, Laca, Mikhi,Leno, Torreira etc.). So either you look at all transfers from cost perspective or if you look at all of them in tranches you got to take in to account the past payables falling due as well. I am not even going in to individual quality of Saliba. All I am saying is if we are spending money on him, we should get him to… Read more »
Windies absolutely pulverised.
Well done Bangladesh.
Receding whether or not they actually sign up Ndombele or Lo Celso or can actually afford them the perception around Spurs compared to when we were ever present in the Champions League chalk and cheese stuff really. It’s quite unbelievable really that it looks like they’re going or they want to be perceived to be kicking on after a Champions League final much like Liverpool the previous season while the summer after we went to a Champions league final we sold Pires and Campbell and spent 9 million on Rosicky. We sold Henry a year later. Thats what 19 seasons… Read more »
Well maybe the club is looking at it like they would send Saliba out on a loan anyhow? He is only 18 ..so I doubt he would start for us much anyhow this season. If so then it makes perfect sense. Besides I would wait to see what any terms are until it’s a done deal.
Graham
Hot n cold teams like windies n Pakistanis
We lost n beat one … On our day should have won both .
Aussies gonna be the ones to beat with their chests back
Been watching old episodes of peep show ..
What a classic comedy .
Another good comedy underated is early doors …
Anyone seen it bout 10 years old
I am not even going in to individual quality of Saliba. All I am saying is if we are spending money on him, we should get him to play for us, not loan him back. That appears to be a sticking point. But it’s actually beneficial to both parties. We’ll be eventually getting a red hot prospect but not right now which is fine because at 17 he won’t be able to make much of an impact right away. I just referenced your point about paying a good portion of our budget on someone who wouldn’t move for another season.… Read more »
‘Sun: #AFC are in advanced talks to sign Saliba but no agreement on loaning the player back yet. Both clubs hope to reach a compromise which could be a six-month loan move where Saliba joins Arsenal in January.’
It’s Sun but if it is true then I guess AFC negotiators have the same concern – loaning back the player for 12 months.
12 months on loan and then 12 months to get used to pace and intensity of EPL – 2 years before we get to see the player perform to his full potential.
Marko Hakimi would just add another body in the RB position.Bellerin is way better and we have more important areas to strengthen in our squad. Llorente could prove to be a good signing but is already 24 and hasnt done anything of note yet.This season was his chance to finally make himself a relevant member of the Real madrid squad but he couldnt.Maybe loaning him for a season with a cheap option to buy and giving him the reserve role of elneny to prove himself could be a good idea but not so sure of that happening really And to… Read more »
Martinelli turns 18 tomorrow so it could be we announce it then
Wolf is finished for the season already.
Lots of team looking at him. No chance now.
Sad for him.
For years we have been getting statements of intent from the hierarchy, from PHW downwards, none of which came to pass. Promises, promises. We don’t need words, we want to see action.
By the end of the summer window we should be able to judge for ourselves whether there is serious intent, and if there is any, what it might be.
englandsbest
In the absence of concrete actions/events with respect to transfers in and out, interpretation is king.
Dortmund mark 2?
Sevilla mark 2?
Project youth 3.0?
Project ageing has-been?
Who the fuck knows?
Nobody knows anything.
I’m holding fire until real stuff happens.
Why don’t we offer them one of our young cb
Or mustafi !
Wolf was already signed up by Leipzig
RSPC
I think the general idea is not to piss them off!
On a serious note maybe offering Mavropanos on loan would work.
Yeah send Mavropanos on loan. Throw in Xhaka and Mustafi to sweeten the deal
Looks ok
But no internal yoot…..
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9311351/how-arsenal-line-up-saliba-kimpembe-tierney-psg-celtic-sexy-football/
Is mustafii gone yet?
GOH
“Would Ferguson have capitulated, not on your Nellie.”
There’s really no basis for comparison but the Ferguson, who later went on to become the greatest manager the PL has ever seen, certainly wouldn’t.
Not saying that Emery has it in his locker to become like Ferguson. But even the great Ferguson himself had to wait 4 and 6 years for his first FA Cup and EPL title respectively. I also vaguely remember ManU having some of the best players in the league during his time.
CC Actually you ran through a couple of drum beats I’ve banged on in recent times. so you’re arguing with yourself when you call me one-liner. I’m yet to see what the Greek kid we signed from the Greek super league 2 can do. You’re proving my point, which is that you like to downplay the scale of our problems, which are systemic and were brought on by 10 years of Wenger and Gazidis flapping around a stationary point while Spurs/Liverpool were edging past us. You pretend that our challenges are nascent so that you can blame the new guys… Read more »
Good post Pedro one of your better ones.
Good news about Saliba but will wait to see him grinning on the website next to emery before I get too excited.
Dortmund route is definitely the way to go considering where the club is at the moment.
I don’t believe the 40 million rumors for a minute though.
Plead poverty then you won’t be over a barrel when dealing with teams.
Look at utd everyone will be asking top dollar knowing that utd have to buy big now.
I live in Los Angeles and I’ve never even heard of oat milk.
Love that we seem to be focusing on the youngsters.
May be punting on next season but I’m down for a mediocre year if it sets the base of a nice build and expansion of the talent level, which is sorely needed.
Of course then we have to develop that talent to make it worth while.
Pedro
Oat milk sounds disgusting
Did you see any benefits besides the weight loss due to diarrhea
Roy to be back for england next week after tearing his hamstring last week
Get that medical team at our club.
Good signing this Saliba kid but how does he help a defense that allowed in something like 60+ goals last season? Most especially if rumours his club wants him back on loan is true?
We absolutely won’t be doing anything of note next season if a genuinely elite starting CB isn’t brought in
Saying so anything to get that clown Mustafa how of the club anyway would appear a progress
Hopefully we’re really working hard on Ziyech.Just love that guy to bits ..he could potentially make so much difference for us regardless of the ever limited Emery
I dont know how turning into Dortmund+ will land us a EPL?
Unless we have – no prices to guess the teams below
300 million budget or
A sellable asset worth 150 million or
Cristiano or
Messi or
Neymar or
1 of the team in a 2 horse race or
Can always do a galactico.
I hope people understand why and how Chelsea struggle now to get PL or maybe all we want is to be a top 4 team like spuds?
I am not pessimistic but even if we become a Dortmund +, all we can do is an occasional semi of the big thing like Ajax or Monaco or Roma.
I dont want us to accept being an also-ran given the bloody potential we have.
Shame really.
Guns, the diarrhea that led to weight loss is what I was after
“Saliba? You better beliba…’
This is better.
Apparently the only Americans unfamiliar with oat milk are on this thread:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bethkaiserman/2019/01/29/2019-year-of-oat-milk/#6644858b72e8
Stan if loaded.
£100m wont kill him. Buy buy buy.
He can sell the dross over the summer to recoup his spare change.
Saliba, Claude, Ziyech sounds like a good start.
Nelson, Holding, Bellerin, Mavropanos, Chambers will all be like a new signing.
New defence right there but we need one more leader. Can ‘t be any worse.
Dissenter Still waiting for the definition of this “major ditch” we’re in. You talk in such unspecific and hyperbolic jargon then cannot substantiate the apparent point you’re trying to make. Arsenal were left much worse than we should’ve been under Wenger and Gazidis, but this idea there’s some long lasting effects is total dogshit. The “major ditch” yielded joint 4th place in the prem and a EL Final last season, so please spare me the utterly gash sentiments of Arsenal in the mire. Absolutely no barrier to us doing what Liverpool have done the past few seasons. None at all.… Read more »
Oatmilk a sad way of getting your OATS.?
Just a thought.
What would happen if you put oat milk in your porridge? Would you instantly have to take a dump?
Klim Tao sounds like the leader of the people’s demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Bed.
Oat milk in my coffee clears my pipe in the morning for sure.
I prefer almond milk though. Get on it. It’s the future.
Yeah. Almond milk nice.
Where does Atletico Madrid get all this money they are spending from.
They are set to sign Joao Felix for just under 110 million GBP.
Something aint right.
Anywhere i can put a tenner on how many times we’re all going to be complaining about how horrible VAR is next season?
Dissenter
Maybe AM just had an excellent business plan after they moved to their new stadium and a manager and owner/board that put their club first. Whereas, back in London , England………………………..
Dissenter, they just sold Griezmann.
Griezmann is being sold for like £120 Million
£110 Million for Felix?
The market has gone batshit crazy
I think Clubs like Atletinco leave everything on the field.
The main assets of a football club ought to be on the field, not idling away in a bank account
Dissenter Well for years on here many of us have said the constant reference to our money in the bank just highlighted economic stupidity. Player appreciation was a trend that was always going to go from strength to strength. We’ve missed out on it in a big way because we have an incompetent manager for so long buying inadequately in the first place and then creating a dysfunctional team that saw individual performances and so valuations drop. It really is painful how shittily this club was just allowed to be run. We’ve not only caused damage that will take years… Read more »
Remember when we were considering Griezemann and Wenger dithered in 2013 and was like nah we good we getting Sonagoal.
You means those kind of opportunities?
Dani Ceballos has a price tag of £27 Million apparently.
I would give that a good look if I was Arsenal.
MidWest
Just in general not having a clue. Absolutely hilarious so many fans and media lackeys held him up as an ‘economic genius’ for so long.
Cesc A. Broken Record. Wenger has left Gazidas has left. Peter Hill Wood has deceased ( RIP) Emery and Raul are in charge. 18 months Raul 12 months Emery _ 30 Months Combined £70mill Spent 6 players bought and counting There not really doing a Great Job. In fact- they are Stinking the place out…. Arsenal were 3rd with 6 Games to Go (They also beat the 2nd best team in Italy in The Loosers Cup too by the way) You can decry the Old Guard till the Cows come home. But they have gone. You are just another with… Read more »
We can’t be dithering on transfers like that anymore.. if we lose out on Saliba a great young prospect because of waiting and end up with some hack.. then it isn’t much different. I think Griezemann even said at that time he was insulted because of that and would never come here.. kind of like making Zlatan do a trial.
Anyhow.. yeah we need to be smart about things now.
MidWest I agree. We have to be looking at players as football assets but also potential financial assets as well. The new lot have done alright in that regard. They brought in Leno and his value will have shot up, Torriera the same, Guendouzi the same. The strategy seems to be the right one so far. We’re trying hard for Saliba and Claude Maurice, Martinelli is inbound as well and we’re looking at Reinier. It’s the right idea. We need to undo the incompetence of Wenger and Gazidis and start making smart decisions. Said last summer it was a reset… Read more »
If we are going to do a full on reset… I would include the manager in that… but he is on a short term deal. So can see the importance of making him accountable to this season and moving things along without completely blowing everything up all at once.
Spurs looking like they’re going to sign N’Dombele. Would be some coup that.
Sigh… Broken record…the irony. 70 mill spent and those players are all worth more now.. You don’t add peoples experience together when their time is concurrent. (google what that means) Do we really want to list all the times the old regime screwed up from winning positions ? Old Regime 22 years.. new regime 1… No comparison to how much time they had to screw things up financially. Loser is spelled loser… looser has a different meaning. Everyone has already admitted Emery screwed up in the last month so not sure what your point is.. other then stating the same… Read more »
”It hasn’t worked and I’m not sure how it can work,” he told Sky Sports News. “I’m also convinced that he couldn’t say no. How can you say no when Barcelona come knocking? As a Brazilian, you could never say no, but there are clearly two problems. One is that they signed him as an [Andres] Iniesta replacement, and he’s not. Nobody’s an Iniesta replacement, but certainly not Coutinho. He’s not a genuine midfielder; he does his best work in the final 30 metres of the field. He was signed for a role that he’s not fit for. Also with… Read more »
Eagle you have always loved you some Coutinho haven’t you.. But your right the grass isn’t always greener.. You like Firmino too if I remember right. They understandably had some chemistry.
If Edu could get us a little bit of that in the future I wouldn’t complain..
Bit depressing watching the Copa America so far, most of the group that played at the 2015 CA are still the top dogs for the countries without much new talent emerging. And they are seriously declined in the case of Chile [Sanchez, Vidal, Valdivia, Medel, Vargas, Isla, Aranguiz] who are seriously struggling to beat Japan’s reserve team. Same goes for Peru [Guerrero and Farfan still play up top for them and are 34/35], I saw Cardozo playing for Paraguay the other day who is closer to 40 than 30, Suarez and Cavani are both 32 now for Uruguay and still… Read more »
Mid I do like him, few players can cut inside and bend a long-range strike into the top bin like he so often does. He’s also such an exciting player to watch with the ball at his feet when he’s in the mood. Having said that like James Rodriguez, Isco, Ozil pre 2016, Cesc pre 2017, he’s a player that is being phased out of the modern game that is increasingly based on aggressive midfield and forward pressing which makes pace pretty much a necessity especially if you’re weak off the ball and defensively which they all are. It’s a… Read more »
Eagle yeah…
I think it has to do with money.. as well… There is still a huge grass roots movement in those SA countries but they don’t have the money to develop young players like Germany and Spain and France can with the facilities and the Clubs so have fallen behind..
Mexico has some good young players though. Not SA country obviously but they have benefited from being able to come to US and train and play in MLS in some cases.
Gold Cup is on here.. If you want to see some countries you have never heard of play… lol
Curacao versus El Salvador at the moment..
“Loser is spelled loser… looser has a different meaning.”
Don’t bite. It’s part of his schtick.
Lukaku is a funny one isn’t he? One of those CF’s that can look like a force of nature and a throwback to Drogba in his prime one week and then look like a Carlton Cole impersonator the very next week.
Always thought that he should bully CB’s more given his freakishly powerful frame, he really does have average technique and should accept this and play more to his strengths.
I reckon United will sell him to Inter Milan this summer. They must know at this stage that he’s not kicking onto another level.
Alex –
Yeah I know… sometimes though I’d just rather answer then bite through my tongue.
Lukaku is too slow on the turn for me… with the ball at his feet. That’s one thing great big body players have to have so they can get their shot off. Seems like he is a bit worried about his technique instead of just playing naturally.
He should play some basketball with his back to the goal and learn a drop step.. and then translate that to football.
Mid
Yeah definitely a factor but even saying that, there’s not much talent coming out of SA these days that are poached by European teams.
Felt like there was more in the previous tournaments. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay were all at their peak around the 2015 Copa America. They’ve all declined since then and are still playing the same group that were in their prime that have begun to decline.