I hit the big 35 today.
In footballing terms, I’m just in the squad for nostalgia reasons. I have no more than 23 games in me a season, mostly because I disrespected my body with heavy boozing sessions with Wayne Rooney in my twenties. Fans now clap patronisingly when I go for a sprint upfield. I’m called the wise head in the dressing room. I have TWO grey hairs in my beard, and I probably have 16 kids.
This year I’ll mostly be moving into punditry and doing a bad job of it because I neglected education during my career. I’m secretly very jealous that Europa Slayer, Petr Cech, has just landed a job at Chelsea as a Sporting Director… he’s the sort of guy who has savings as well. I’m going to go off the rails.
Damn… it’s depressing imagining yourself as a 35-year-old footballer.
IN THE REAL WORLD, Dalian have apparently suspended Carrasco as he angles for a move away.
I know I’d be doing the same if I were playing out there in my prime, but ultimately, the whole saga says a lot about who he is as a player in my opinion. Still, I’d rather him over Fraser every damn day…
James Olley reckons we’re reassessing our transfer moves now moves for both players have stalled. My thing here is this… just two players on our list of wingers? A whole season of watching Iwobi and we’re having a reassess targets like we’re now stumped? We should have 10 players we’re targetting. I know I’m getting angry about a guess from a journalist… but it all feels too familiar. We have an indecisive setup and we don’t have the key parts here to make it work. A disrupted preseason is looking more and more likely if we don’t shape up soon.
Bayern Munich player of the season waaaaaas… Gnabry. Another snappy bit of business. Ivan G and Wenger offering him a deal AFTER he smashed the Olympics. I also heard from a very good place that he was utterly horrified by how flummoxed Wenger was by a simple change in formation by a shite French team on the preseason tour.
One day, I’ll sit down and work out how much money we’ve wasted by losing good players for fuck all, overspending on wages, and buying players high and not being able to shift them. As a club, is there a better club in the upper echelons of football for making bad decisions? Doubtful.
Right, that’s me done. See you in the comments! xxx
Tierney has already had a fair few injuries at 22
None of Fraser, Carrasco and Zaha is an ideal choice but if money was not a constraint Zaha would be my choice. He is not as polished as Carrasco and not as hard working as Fraser but he is somewhere in between in terms of skills and effort.
At the risk of winding up any Scottish posters you’d hope that he’d get fewer soft tissue injuries on better pitches in the EPL. And we should have better medical facilities and diagnostics, and also (reaches for tin hat) he’s less likely to face cloggers week in week out.
Zaha strikes me as a lad who’s much happier near home in London. Had the potential to do well at United but didn’t settle. Sad that we can’t even afford to take a player from a side like Palace (contrast with buying Wrighty back in the day).
Bassaka a RB is going for 50 million+.
No way they let their talisman forward in Zaha go for under 70 million. Who pays that I’m not quite sure, you wouldn’t bet against United headed by that hack Woodward would you?
marc
Fashion rules – even in football. It’s a cycle that repeats itself endlessly.There is nothing new. It just seems to be with those (like yourself) with a fixation on tactix.
Christopher Nkunku for just under £14m?
Looks a good deal to me.
Nkunku and Tierney is a start for sure.
Still doesn’t solve the porous nature of the midfield though and the need for another CB but a start with these two.
Nkunku can look a little erratic at times but he has the necessary technique overall though.
Quick and direct as well.
Arsenal interested in Thauvin, apparently?
Anyone else seen that?
” It just seems to be with those (like yourself) with a fixation on tactix.”
Er – what are you talking about? If you mean seeing a team line up with a basic concept of who you’re playing against then yes I have a fixation on tactics.
Zaha was too busy at ManU putting one of Moye’s daughter to think about football.
Player – “Boss why aren’t I getting more playing time?”
Manager – “Because you’re fucking my daughter”
Forget Zaha just another over hyped over priced English player.
Cesc
Yes just saw it. Expensive player who probably won’t be able to kick on to the next tier of Juve, Barça, Real, PSG. If we pay 40-50m for him, next stop will be a sideways move to Milan, Roma, Marseille,, Valencia.
Seems like the club gone cold…
Max Aaron’s is a player we were linked with…
If united are in for him… good move..
We dick around all the time when it comes to players and end up with the dross.
We are better off throwing youth in as a sink of swim
Beno
Saliba
Torr
Auba
Is that a good spine .?
Marko
There’s “shit”and there’s “shit” but compared to some of the other “shit” in and around AFC I reckon we should consider offloading that” shit” first, before we even consider ditching “shit” of the calibre of Mr Kolasinac.
Sorry about all the “shit”
Dream10
Could be a nonsense rumour but Arsenal might be hoping for a bit of a situation where player has bad spell, goes away and reinvents himself and then comes back the scene of his failure.
It’s not the same but Salah had that a bit. Nothing at Chelsea when young, went away and improved dramatically returned the EPL and owned it.
Thauvin was a disaster at Newcastle but has done well at Marseille.
Salah was banging them in on a consistent level in the CL before the Chavs signed him though (against Chelsea funnily enough, got sick of him scoring on them) and he didn’t get a sniff because of top class players in Hazard, Cesc, Oscar, Schurrle, Willian being ahead in the pecking order.
Newcastle were shit and Thauvin still did nothing with them. Then again as you say he’s excelled in Marseille since.
I’d be wary of the price, he’s far from a sure thing.
Might also be an issue of Marseille being one of the few clubs amenable to a staggered payment scheme with regards to the targets we’re looking at (Bournemouth, Dalian)? Added to that Kozz might be used here as well and both parties are happy with that? If they want £50 Million, £40 Million and Kozz then a payment scheme over 2 or 3 years? Where there are some clubs who have a ‘fuck you pay me’ attitude. One of the hold ups with Wan Bissaka is the fact they want £42 Million this summer out of the £50-60 Million fee.… Read more »
Marseille would probably want the money upfront as they have no CL and they want financial compensation for that.
Like WE said I’d be a bit wary of Thauvin and it’s not as if he failed at a big club is it unlike Salah at Chelsea.
I’d rather Nkunku at the prices being quoted tbh and his potential upside in comparison to Thauvin.
Fucking hell Chavs used to be stacked.
Hazard, Fabregas, Oscar, Willian, Schurrle, Salah, De Bruyne, Matic, Costa, Lukaku on the books in 2014.
Willian the sole survivor. And he’s gone next summer.
Can’t see them being thrilled with staggered payments, like Ishola says they’re pretty strapped for cash now without CL.
He’s one of their only assets. Not going to lose him without putting up a bit of a scrap.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Bonner or some nonsense doubts that Arsenal are a big enough club for Tierney ….
How the mighty have fallen
Cesc, Why are we looking for staggered payments? I thought we were cash rich, profits poor. In the last accounts published for the year to May 2018, we had loads of cash (£231m) and made an accounting loss of £54m. We are probably still making counting losses, but are still swimming in (lower) levels of cash relative to other PL clubs. Other (big) clubs tend to be profits rich, cash poor in relative terms to us. So I would have thought our “transfer advantage” relative to other clubs is our ability to pay in full, or at least not have… Read more »
*making accounting losses
No way Thauvin goes for 50 million. Ridiculous he’ll go for about 35 million. As for what old Packie Bonner said he’s a bit in the past if we’re honest and it’s hilarious all these pissed up Scots getting their skirts in a bind at the price we offered for Tierney. He’s just gone 22 he’s had some injuries and he plays in one of the worst quality leagues in all of Europe. 15-20 is about right. Anyone thinking otherwise is probably a dumbass from Scotland
Marko
I reckon the Celtic fans are expecting the Barnett formula to be applied to the fee.
Really wish Ornstein had kept his mouth shut for a change and not mentioned Tierney until a fee was agreed.
Every Scottish player or pundit has come out and said he’s worth much more since. It will be hard now to agree a fee because Celtic will think twice about selling for £25m.
Any club from the SPL should count themselves lucky that anyone wants to buy a player from. They’re lucky to get anything more than 20 quid and a six pack of irn bru for anyone. Pile of shite league “oh 15 million is an insult for one of our players”. Fuck off
Van dijk was at Celtic at a similar age, we were linked and didn’t follow it through so you never know. Yeah it’s a crap league and it might not pay off but if it does it’ll look like excellent business one day.
Paulinho
Orny is club’s unofficial mouthpiece. In all probability we have signed Tierney, the club wouldn’t let Ornstein tweet about the ongoing negotiations otherwise.
Like I said earlier the record fee for a player signed by a Scottish team is Tore Andre Flo for 12 million and the record for a player sold is 19 million for Dembele. VVD went for 11.5 million. How anyone from that rain riddled shit hole thinks 15 million is a joke for a 22 year old who’s currently recovering from surgery and who’s had a serious knee injury the last two seasons it’s ridiculous.
What are you talking about, he played 37 matches last season and 50 apps the one before.
Admittedly don’t follow the SPL at all but that doesn’t add up.
55 apps in fact.
He had a ruptured cruciate ligament injury. Sure it’s not a anterior cruciate ligament injury which is more severe but it’s not no knee injury. Point is he’s had injuries and plays in Scotland and he literally turned 22 June 5th. Anyone thinking 15 million opening bid for him is embarrassing needs a word.
It was the 16/17 season he was out 3 months
Tell you what this Everton kid for Brazil looks brilliant, running Peru ragged and has been their star man in the Cops so far.
Two great goals and is their key 1 vs 1 man in the absence of Neymar. Plays for Gremio.
Edu I hope you’re paying attention mate.
Tierney is far from injury prone, he’s classic Sunday league battle ready. Lad is 22 and has played over 200 games.
Amusing take on a 15 mil offer, it’s a league that casts envious eyes down south and thinks there’s a level of parity there. Total nonsense. Tierney for 20 mil suits everyone, don’t let any salty Tim tell you otherwise.
Arsenal well within their rights to start at 15.
It’s not embarrassing Marko. Celtic are looking at all of the silly money being spunked by PL clubs and are thinking I want a piece of that.
15m is a little on the low side given the hype around this kid. Celtic will want closer to 30m and they’ll likely get it.
I reckon 20-25m gets the deal done.
Dani Alves rolling back the years there.
Exactly Charles. Making out like 15 million is a piss take for anyone in the SPL it’s laughable. I think anything north of 25 million and I’d walk away. You could probably get Tagliafico or Grimaldo or Gaya for 30-35 million what’s an extra 5-10 million for an obvious better LB
22.5 tierany
22.5 Saliba
Plus add ones reacjing cl or winning something
You’d hope that the medical team have two rocks to run together in that cranium of theirs re Tierney’s physical condition.
If he’s physically recovered 100pc from that knee injury 2+ years ago then I wouldn’t fret too much, I mean you say he’s currently out with surgery yeah with a hernia. Not exactly a game changer that one.
Sell torr for 45 m
If he don’t want to be here…
Anyone have a scouting report on Tierney?
Eagle
Injury prone
Tierney will be a savage upgrade if we land him,serious aggressive defender ,wicked engine and delivery ,exactly what we need 🙂
This Aussie women’s right back is LITERALLY a better player than Jenks.
The women’s game has improved massively. The officiating has been terrible though.
People on here doubting tierneys quality are the same fools who think monreal is solid
Tierney is as good as if not better than Robertson if you want to compare.
The last time Arsenal bought a left back from one of the The Old Firm- it was the Dutchman Gio Van Bronkhurst. He looked a million dollars too in Scottish football.But unfortunately got found out quickly in England- pretty sharp. Chalk and Cheese and some more – these two leagues… As we all know- gauging who is good in that League- is virtually impossible…. I suspect even Jenks and Lich would be stand out performers and occasionally look like Garrincha ,(circa iconic Brazil 1970) against the likes of Motherwell and Queen of The South** I cant see how Tierney is… Read more »
Celtic bigger than Arsenal?
Stupid comment. How many kids outside Europe know them and their history. £15m opening bid is too charitable though I reckon we will pay closer to £20m.
CCG, Monreal has been one of our dependable defenders for some years now not talking about his consistency. If about 75% of the playing staff had his consistency, I don’t think we will be where we are.
Kay,,monreal has been a liability for 3 seasons ,a brief resurgence at cb only prolonged his stay at Arsenal ,the guy is finished
victorious
That comment about £15 million being a joke offer was pathetic
I’m sure you realize that by now since you’re a good lad.
Inter and Athletico Madrid have offered €90 millions to Lille for Nicolas Pepe.
He was bought in June 2017 for €10 millions bonus included.
Didn’t Celtic sell VVD for £11.5m to Southampton? If so £15m is a reasonable opening bid imo, for a 22 year old… just because the hype says you’re worth more doesn’t mean necessarily mean we should cave in just because some pundits say so.
Celtic will probably want cash but why don’t we try to offer £20m plus Jenkinson as Lennon is sniffing around him?
With Chelsea looking for a manager, another player I’d looking at grabbing is Ethan Ampadu. His dad Kwame used to manage our U18s until he was poached by Henry when he was made Monaco manager… and he did good job too. (We should bring him back too.
Honestly if iwobi was playing for palace people would be eating him much higher 1) as much as a lot of people on here talk a good game, very few are actually watching other teams (even fewer other leagues) on a weekly basis 2) a lot of opinions are based off a single check of Wikipedia stats and a YouTube video. Chamakh is the only pro footballer I’ve ever seen that didn’t look quality in YouTube clips 3) many of the must have hot signings are actually based off a single good season and not a sustained run of good… Read more »
My point is also not that iwobi is good – but that when you see these players on a weekly basis you see the reality
Based on limited observations and YouTube clips, even iwobi could look like an exciting buy if he weren’t already an arsenal player – but we know the truth…
The Pepe valuation actually annoys me. Based on one season of good form it’s irritating.
Football transfer valuations have all the hallmarks of a financial bubble… and it probably would’ve exploded by now if it wasn’t for the presence of oil money priming the bubble even further.
€90m for Pepe? Honestly? Based on what?
What is it going to take for the whole system to reset itself and for people to wake up?
Arsenal is on the verge of a catastrophic downfall. It is losing is character of playing silky football – most of loved Arsenal for that , Spurs are acceptably above Arsenal, Arsenal vs ManU is not anymore the game of the season….. wht is left if the club? I can bet the fanbase growth must have been at its lowest in the last 2 years, and worst, the club doesn’t care much about it.
The leadership is confused, no new homegrown talents worth a watch for more than 5 mins. It’s a club which lacks a hero.
Sad.
Weagle I follow Scottish football as my Dads a Rangers fan, and even through some tinted specs I can say Tierney is probably the best player in the league. As a left back he’s aggressive (think early Gerrard levels), rapid, and one of these guys who seems to be born with extra stamina. I’d say he’s peak Monreal with a bigger frame and much, much quicker. How good he can get, assuming he even steps up, is anyone’s guess. Mixed bag come out of Scotland, VVD bossed it, Robertson was released by Celtic (lol), Oliver Burke went to RB Leipzig… Read more »
As we are looking for fullbacks, a player I would urge Arsenal to sign is Benjamin Heinrichs of Monaco. He’s an excellent versatile player… able to play both left back and right back as well as right and left midfield on occasion too.
If we miss out on Tierney he would be a great alternative… probably obtainable for the same price if not slightly better.
Have we considered offering Mkhitaryan to Carrasco’s present club? He roughly plays the same position. His wages won’t be a problem and at 30 still a decent age for a pro… according to transfermarkt he’s worth what they are asking us for.
Plus Mkhitaryan might want to make on last deal before he retires…
*one last big deal
Leeds
That would be an ideal and logical route, if Carrasco can offer what arsenal really need in terms of consistent game changing performances.
Thinking about it you would think Mesut Özil would be a prime prime target for a Chinese club to pick up. Worth a try?
A former world star who wants a big big payday without breaking a sweat… if that is not a description of Özil what is?
Ozil and China just don’t fit in my eyes. Guy is on mega wedge in prime Europe. Can’t imagine what he’d have to be offered to trade that for a Chinese field – if there’s a figure at all.
Who’s top earner in the dim sum league?
Great post Peanuts. I agree with it. We are becoming a complete irrelevance ( note – the press dont even write about us any more- they have given up on getting quotes from Emery and Co.) We are Totally devoid of any footballing identity. We are colorless, bland, boring ,soulless, apathetic and dull. (As a consequence- even the majestic Le Grove faces an existential threat to its existence.) Why would any young fan around the Globe – become an Arsenal fan nowadays.? We have chosen a wretched path post Wenger We have basically become Watford-lite. Kroenkes Out Emery Out Raul… Read more »
Dein is almost eighty as has been pointed out several times CG. He is not coming back to active football management. We…or more specifically, you, need to move on.
I thought the club would have had the list of players we were looking to recuit picked out.
All this delaying is one of a few things
Not getting cl came as a shock n all the targets were bigger.
Barroom arguing over who is best for the club.
People running 5he club see it as a job an don’t have arsenal passion for the club.
Behind the scenes the club is in turmoil.
“Football transfer valuations have all the hallmarks of a financial bubble…”
One of the sanest comments I’ve ever seen on here. Apparently there was a story in one of the papers last week about the Glazer’s calling a meeting with the ManU board to discuss transfers and in particular fees. Even with all the financial might that ManU have the Glazers are saying what the fuck.
RSPC
What do you do for a living?
“We need Dein back in Charge.”
We need you to get the f*ck out.
(Tick tock…)
More rumours we’re going back in for Szoboszlai. I really like the look of him and opinion on him is very positive. At £10-15 Million as well, could be a shrewd investment. If we come out of the summer with Saliba, Martinelli and Szoboszlai along with some of the youngsters here like Willock it will be nice to have some exciting young prospects again. Really think Arsenal will be doing smart business if they land Tierney, even if they have to pay toward £25 Million. He’s got a style that will suit the EPL in terms of not being overawed… Read more »
Wish those Torreira stories would go away, he needs to adapt and we need to keep him.
Ivan seems a lot more active at AC than he ever was with us, maybe he is under this thing called “pressure to succeed” over there?
David Smith
Could also be a case of him wanting a good commercial look and UCL football for the worth of the club because he’s been promised an equitable stake?
We know he’s money orientated.
Also he’s never been shy of a transfer, do you remember Wenger saying ‘sometimes I have to calm him down’? Just how good at them and contract offers he is is the real question.
Cesc
Spot on I think Gazidis spent years wanting to spend more with Wenger dithering. I firmly put the Ozil, Welbeck, Auba and Miki transfers down to Gazidis.
Highbury
The funny thing is Dein was all about contacts as well. The irony of it goes so far over the morons head it’s laughable.
Marc
I agree.
Gazidis was obsessed with image, the image of spending £60 Million on a player, the image of having a player on £350 000 a week…it clearly made Arsenal a massive club in image if nothing else.
For a smart man how he could not see the functional issues of his decision beyond the aesthetic when he would clearly be being told of the financial implications is beyond me.
I really think the incompetence of Wenger and a distrust of Gazidis meant Kroenke Jr started circling the club to report back to dad. Way, way too late though.
Pedro, first and foremost, happy belated birthday!! Hope you had an absolute cracker of a day! Second of all, I love this from your last post that I’ve only just read… “Stan Kroenke is mainly guilty for putting too much trust into an ailing manager 90% of the fanbase was calling daddy 3 years ago. Seriously, it’s mostly exAKBs that push the Stan narrative and it’s an uncomfortable reality that they were all backing Wenger being armed with big money for years. Now it’s Stan’s fault for not firing him? A situation that would have put thousands of men into… Read more »
Cesc
The time line certainly fit’s – that story about Josh Kroenke spending 3 months getting to know the club inside out etc.
As much as I’d live Kroenke to help the club out this summer you can understand his reluctance until he sees the club operating on a more sensible basis.
In the future, we need to check a player’s character before signing him. Like Ramsey, who gives his all even after he has signed for another club. I wouldn’t sign players like Ozil and Micki, who didn’t give a fuck to the team. I wouldn’t touch Carrasco also. He’ll cause problems and he’ll not care for any team.
I have a feeling we won’t be seeing or hearing from Pedro for a couple of days. Birthday hangovers get nasty as you get older.
As CG once again correctly predcited on Le Grove….Rafa Benitez is almost certainly leaving Newcastle United… His Spanish Connections will undoubtedly letting it be known immediately to Raul he is palpably a better manager than what we currently have…and would love the Arsenal Job. ( they all do)…. European Champion and Double La Liga winner and hugely respected Rafa or our Dope? We have a proven,pedigreed proper manager available Now who wants AFC ….how can Raul and Vinai Look the fans in The Eye – and say more Emery is better than Rafa… These 2 clowns continue to be incompetent… Read more »
“In the future, we need to check a player’s character before signing him.“
We’ve done this for years and years, every club has.
Marc I really want to see the club get a hold of itself this summer. The money we’ve wasted over the years is actually quite sickening and the money we waste yearly (when you think about £32 Million a year on Mustafi, Ozil and Mkhitaryan) we need to get a grip on that. If we come out of the summer having moved a good number of players on, at least 6 or 7, brought in some exciting young talent like Saliba etc and a couple of more established players at CB and LB say I will be happy. Finances beginning… Read more »
Champagne
‘
“In the future, we need to check a player’s character before signing him.’
“We’ve done this for years and years, every club has
…then why are we trying to sign Carrasco?
Cesc
Yeah if you look at Arsenal purely as a business at the moment we’re losing money – usual response to that is to increase revenues now whilst we will continue to look to do that our problem is costs. The wages are out of control get a hold of them and suddenly you’ve got more to spend in the transfer market. It’s a self correcting problem in the long term, contracts run out and the players leave but do we really want to wait 3 – 4 years.
Dissenter
Because the club seem to consider him worth any potential hassle for the fee he’s gettable for plus his output. Pretty standard stuff I’d have thought?
There’s a difference between a player who’s kicking up a fuss to get a transfer or made a mistake in a move and a player who can’t cope with the new country or sees a move as a pay cheque and nothing more.
Cesc A “””The money we’ve wasted over the years is actually quite sickening and the money we waste yearly”””” Absolutely. Miles too much….we all agree on it…..but focus on the here and now perhaps……? We wasted another £100 million not beating 4th from bottom Brighton in the last home game. We were 1 -0 at half time Brighton knew they were safe from relegation…had nothing to play for …nothing…. Brighton were clearly more upset with this result than we were….. they sacked their manager Chris Hugton a week later…..WE KEPT OURS!!!!!!!??? £100 million Down The Drain in 45 minutes…( and… Read more »
Marc It really is quite shocking when you stand back and survey the damage of the incompetent one and Gazidis. This summer has to be about the future, not even next season totally, but the season after and the one after that etc. The noises coming out of the club are right, but they are just noises right now. Reserve judgement until the season starts and we see what they’ve done/not done. I have a bad feeling Ozil is still going to be here, ‘shockingly’ he’s attracted no interest. But we can just work around him, I actually think if… Read more »
CG do you not realise that 99% of people on here think you are at best a cretin. You post utter shite like Benitez or Mourinho as manager, Wenger back as Technical Director, bringing Dein back etc.
Don’t you think you’d be better off on a site where there are at least a few who think there’s some merit in what you say?
Admittedly with your moronic views that’d have to be a Spud blog but I’m sure they’d find you highly amusing.
Cesc I agree – that’s why no one’s going mental at Emery. He’s not the long term manager we want but as things stand having a steady hand at the wheel who at least has some experience is important. I think we’re definitely stuck with Ozil this season to the point of I don’t even really think about him being gone. The two I want to see gone the most are Mustafi and Xhaka. If they go we’ll have to bring in replacements which if done properly sorts out the midfield and defence. Add some width and we’re looking miles… Read more »
‘David Dein’ is a synonym for what (or who) is needed at Arsenal. We all know he is too old to return, but he symbolizes what is missing at today’s Arsenal.
The current owner lacks commitment.
Cesc “””we will be primed for next summer…even more so if UCL revenue is back then as well.””” You are delusional. TOTALLY delusional. Face reality. We have the worst manager in the Prem. Owners who have form of ‘ Locked in Syndrome ” and are oblivious to how incompetent the club continues to be run. We have a scattergun approach to transfer recruitment. Which is basically… Buy cheap and rejected players- No top clubs want. Eg Tierney,Carrasco and Fraser. We give our best players away for Free We have waited a year for a tech Director!!! A YEAR!!! And he… Read more »
Marc
I work At a post production facility in mcr