Arsenal fans going through the meat grinder today.
Spurs are about the drop £70m on Ndombele, one of the best young midfielders in the world. United have landed Waan Bissaka for £50m. TEARS ALL OVER THE STATION FLOOR.
Meanwhile, David Ornstein has Arsenal out here contemplating selling Auba to find Wilfried Zaha (Palace trying to remove his sell on clause whilst negotiating with United), whilst also chasing Saliba and Tierney.
I’m not that fussed about losing Auba, he’s a very well paid 29-year old I’m not sure we have the luxury of having at this stage of our decline, certainly not if we’re going to have to up his salary. However, those goals are going to need to come from somewhere and it’s a huge ask to expect Zaha to double his output this season. Or are we thinking about giving Eddie a more senior role?
Unless the manager thinks the whole system lacked a good wide player, which will make the entire team score more goals. I mean, he could think that catching X on the overlap just needs better parts… in that case, I really am worried.
It’s frustrating to read around some of the Arsenal accounts trying to find reasons as to our decline when it’s been staring them in the face for years.
No club in the world has consistently made more bad decisions than Arsenal over the past 5 years.
We were way ahead of Spurs and Liverpool 5 years and we’ve blown our lead by giving £350m to a busted manager who spent it in a half-arsed way, we’ve given contracts to players that didn’t deserve them, we hoarded players and lost them for nothing, failed to give actual talent deals quick enough, refused to move our wage bill to one that was more meritocratic, gave Wenger a new deal despite him being on life support, sacked him and spent £17m to undo the mistake, then doubled down on our mistake by hiring in a head coach that has managed to make the whole scenario worse.
It’s even starting to look like we’ve blown a whole summer waiting for Edu to arrive at the club.
We don’t stop doing making the wrong moves.
Still, the one thing you can take from all of this… success isn’t permanent. Things can south pretty quickly in world football. They can also move north pretty quickly.
If Edu comes in and he’s made of the sort of stuff I have heard he is, then we might be capable of making a climb back to the top.
We need a vision, a footballing philosophy and someone that is going to hold people accountable for delivering. There needs to be a proper plan in place. Football shouldn’t be that complicated. It always has and always will start with hiring in great people. Your structure means fuck all if there are talent holes in it. Currently, we look like the aftermath of a drive-by shooting.
This season is already setting up in mediocre fashion. Europe is waiting to see what happens with our dross, so they’ll likely be with us at the start of the season. We are struggling to push deals for our targets over the line. There seems to be no hope of moving on Ozil. It’s also looking unlikely that we’ll be adding any sort of volume to the setup. 3-4 players max, with the rest being made up with internal promotions and return loanees.
… but there’s still time to make things happen. So don’t lose faith yet. But do realise this, we are in another transition year, because Edu is going to come in with new ideas and we’re most likely going to see what peak-Emery looks like… it won’t be pretty.
Let’s just hope the next manager has some really talented kids to work with. Let’s hope some of the youth step up when given a chance this season. Let’s hope Freddie can offer up a little bit of something special. Let’s hope season two of Matteo and LT is the next level.
The most important signing will be Edu. If we’ve blown that move, we are heading into longterm irrelevance as meteor-like speed. He really has to bring the goods and he has to be utterly ruthless in implementing his ideas.
Right, that’s me done, see you in the comments x
Pierre
You’re really funny
You say Mustafi is adequate yet he’s going to corrupt younger defenders by teaching them how not to defend?
If that was a joke then I have to say bravo.
Pierre, ‘(Mustafi) is a perfectly good squad player’….err…..no!
He is a mistake waiting to happen!
The only time Ornstein is right is when he’s reporting after the fact.
The dude that thinks Ornstein has to corroborate his stories from two sources is so off base you have to wonder is he’s not high on something.
Pierre you’re a grade-A clown.
Mustafi is not fit for purpose or worthy of wearing an Arsenal shirt.
Pedro
I agree with your analysis of arsenal’s recent decline.
Where you were wrong was in your thinking that all we had to do was replace wenger and we’d be in trophy Land.
The reasons for Arsenal’s demise always were and still are more complicated and more systemmic than that.
That’s why, despite the deck chair shuffling, this summer looks oh so familiar.
Thought that Pierre’s comment on Mustafi was laced with satirical undertone…
Literally anybody that has followed football for bout 5 minutes know Mustafi is more of a clown and less of a football player
Anderson has been signed. My source confirmed to me that Edu and the new shirts need to get here before he’s announced. Arsenal wouldn’t pay the extra 1.5m on Praet because he wanted the no 10 shirt and his first name on the Jersey.
Alex
You’re not wrong, but there’s still a number adamantly stating all our woes can be put on Wenger and Gazidis.
Stan and the faceless board have a good deal to deliver. The villains of the piece invariably have just had more public interaction. Same can be said of this next lot.
Mustafa Lost the will to improve in the last 2 years cos of fan abuse. He is a good defender that wasn’t handled well and then wasn’t given a chance. He’s mistakes were always magnified by fans. Comparing to defenders his profile* in the pl, he’s better than many.
*See Otamendi, Lovren, Stones etc
Mystic
Lol I’d wager your source is questionable and you’re literally taking the piss,Orn man is the only Oracle in all things arsenal
As for CMs we should sign Szobola…. No way should we miss out on him. Yes YouTube and all but the guy is so composed and spot on for a teenager.
Also ATM have been squandering a lot of money lately. LEMAR, Costa, Martin (wages) didn’t exactly work out did they? Now they want to sign Felix for mega bucks. No how they make a profit on him. Absolutely no chance
Micheal Stage 1 of the redevelopment program commenced once Wenger and,to a lesser extent, Gazidis,were disposed of. Stage 2 was all about stability and then restructuring what had been systematically destroyed over the past few years. At present this stage is under Emery( who knows, maybe short term). Stage 3 involves our owner, who without doubt has zero emotional attachment/interest in the club. This stage of the redevelopment program is down to the fans( as it eventually was with Wenger) and their abilities to push him out of the club. Whatever way you look at things SK oversaw a complete… Read more »
Of course it was victorious ..
“*See Otamendi, Lovren, Stones etc”
All three piss all over Mustafi and they are poor defenders as well
Mustafi’s first defensive instinct is to go to ground…..that’s a NO NO
He is good at defending aerial balls i give him that, but one on one dreadful defender who always panics
Mystic, as I understand it, shirts 1st July, Edu maybe 7th. Seems surprising that they’d want to wait for Edu but if your source says so…..
Your second exclusive sounds very odd, why is the extra £1.5 m linked to his shirt requests -surely they’re mutually exclusive or am I being thick?
in front
“Also ATM have been squandering a lot of money lately. LEMAR, Costa, Martin (wages) didn’t exactly work out did they? Now they want to sign Felix for mega bucks. ”
I agree
Nobody points out their mistakes and the money it costs them, success has many friends, failure an orphan
Sounds like you’ve got the ear of Mustafi as well, if not other parts of his anatomy. You’re seriously well connected….(not a happy image that!)
Ooh Graham, you’ve come across as all serious again!
Very thick Bob. It’s legrove after all.
“He is good at defending aerial balls i give him that, but one on one dreadful defender who always panics”
You haven’t seen Otamendi Lovren Stones on 1v1 then. Honesty, Mustafi is equal or better than those 3. Especially Otamendi.
Mystic has a source too. My god what an age we live in
Mystic – ear of Mustafi…..
Since you have his ear can you tell him he’s shit and he needs to piss off
Mystic has a source too. My god what an age we live in
Lol
Mystic just to be clear you were taking the piss yes?
“They demand success on the field of play. Yep, Levy at Spuds is the same.”
Er can someone tell me precisely what success Levy has overseen at the Spud’s?
I won’t even go into the list of clowns he appointed before he lucked out on the Poch.
“Arsenal wouldn’t pay the extra 1.5m on Praet because he wanted the no 10 shirt and his first name on the Jersey.”
As has already been asked what does the £1.5 million have to do with the other parts of the comment?
The rest of the comment is just absurd – the club don’t give a shit what name a player puts on his shirt it certainly wouldn’t stop a transfer. Secondly we want Ozil out why would we worry about taking the 10 shirt off him.
Marc I think it might have been a joke. Unless it wasn’t. In which case…
Marko
It just seemed an all round strange comment.
Lol. Guys. We all have sources😂😂. I totally made it up but it sounded real. At least the first part. That’s what these journos do to us.
Please no not another Swiss in the team.
The key difference between Arsenal and the other investments made by Kroenke is that it is the only one outside the USA. Until now Arsenal has paid its way both in sponsorship, tv and ticket sales, but if the revenues start falling and the club make substantial losses I could see Kroenke selling the club. It should not be forgotten that Usmanov who is significantly wealthier than Kroenke came to a view that there was no point in keeping his shareholding. I think that EVERY CLUB in EPL apart from perhaps Man City is probably for sale at the right… Read more »
You’ll go get yourselves some source and stop being envious
I know someone working in the club who is close to Raul’s tea lady who also get some exclusives from Emery’s in-law who is a friend to Gazidiz former Barber that we’re working on a deal to bring in Messi after selling the stadium.Believe it or not
Marc ” Secondly we want Ozil out why would we worry about taking the 10 shirt off him.” Who is this “we”….. A few numpties on Le Grove . Maybe the club have come to their senses and have decided to back our most talented player … I know that if I still attended matches at the Emirates regularly I would much rather watch a cultured footballer like Ozil than the bumbling Iwobi who Emery appears to prefer… I have yet to see the match going fans turn on Mesut Ozil despite the continual attempts by the media to discredit… Read more »
“Your second exclusive sounds very odd, why is the extra £1.5 m linked to his shirt requests”
That gives me a good idea. Take the #10 shirt away from Ozil and gives him a shirt # of 00. That’s what he is now.
Just check that KSE’s MLS team, Colorado Rapids is dead last in the MLS standing. Since there is no demotion in MLS, there is no pressure for KSE to invest.
have decided to back our most talented player …
What exactly does this mean. Back him in what? I’m sure they’d love to back him off the edge of a cliff.
Ishola that’s a firm no from me on defensive players from Switzerland or Swiss based clubs from me. Lichtsteiner, Elneny and Xhaka are prime examples to avoid at all costs.
Pierre
Bit late in the day, but
eulogising 3 tin cups !
Because we wouldn’t even try to be better. At least on 2 occasions we could have won the League if Monsieur Arsehole Wenger wouldn’t sit on 100 mill pounds and on top of a warped sense of “values” ( buzzwords called so often as straw arguments)
” I would much rather watch a cultured footballer like Ozil than the ”
Well not much watching to be done, he gets involved in a football match for about 15 minuets, rest of the time he is walking about the pitch while the game passes him by.
‘Also you have to remember that back in the day there was a summer when he had said that we have no money left and then we literally bid 90 million euros or whatever it was for Lemar. ‘
Made, you really believe that bid was genuine?
That we actually put £90m on the table and a club couldn’t grab it because time was short?
**Mate
Marko,
“Ishola that’s a firm no from me on defensive players from Switzerland or Swiss based clubs from me. Lichtsteiner, Elneny and Xhaka are prime examples to avoid at all costs.”
That makes no sense
Lichsteiner was a beast in his prime, we just got him five seasons too late.
Interesting read on football 365, about teams that have spent more than 20 million on a player.
Leicester and west ham have spent over 20 million on a player five times, the same amount of times as arsenal since the 2016 transfer window.
Over a longer time since August 2013
The spuds are level on seven players, soon to be eight if they sign tombola or what ever he’s called from lyon.
Interesting to see Everton have done it 12 times!
The players from Chelsea and city are ridiculous.
https://www.football365.com/news/every-20m-signing-ever-made-by-a-premier-league-club-3
Pierre
‘Maybe the club have come to their senses and have decided to back our most talented player …”
How else can the club “back” Ozil
We have two elite strikers in front of him, two strikers that are full of movement. Still Ozil has only 2 assists in the league all season!
Your Ozil fetish has assumed pathological levels, you need to see a mental professional pronto.
Pierre
Why did the club accept a loan offer for Ozil in January?
“Please no not another Swiss in the team.”
Even if it’s King Federer himself ??
MarkoJ
“that’s a firm no from me on defensive players from Switzerland or Swiss based clubs from me. Lichtsteiner, Elneny and Xhaka are prime examples to avoid at all costs.”
Behrami was a player that could defend and wasn’t a lightweight.
That LB Rodríguez couldn’t defend for shit either.
HighburyLegend
”Even if it’s King Federer himself ??”
TR7 would be pleased.
Feds would bring the nice aesthetics to the side.
j/k TR7.
“The only time Ornstein is right is when he’s reporting after the fact.
The dude that thinks Ornstein has to corroborate his stories from two sources is so off base you have to wonder is he’s not high on something.”
Dissenter, you obviously do not understanbd how the media works.
Made, you really believe that bid was genuine?
That we actually put £90m on the table and a club couldn’t grab it because time was short?
Lemar actually admitted to it he said it happened too late that he needed time to think about it and turned us down.
Swiss? The Sbozolas…. guy? Thought he is Austrian? He’s really good. For his age.
If we don’t get any wingers then we should definitely play Nelson much more this season. Much much more. Though I hope we get Ziyech or Fekir (hybrids I know but will do ok). Also Willock and Nketiah must play this season.
Talking about Willock and Nketiah, they should have reduced their ages more. They look like 16 year olds and time is running out for them
Remember when some of you lot wanted us to spunk 90 mil on Lemar….how’s that looking by the way?
That makes no sense
How does it make no sense? Any Swiss affiliated players we’ve ever signed have been a mistake by us. Add in Senderos and Djourou too. I’m not even necessarily saying that all Swiss affiliated players are bad we could have signed Salah from Basel back in the day and now Akanji and Zakaria look like good players but given our track record I’d seriously pass from now on
The Lemar bid was real. I didn’t understand it but it was real. He also later went for 67m and hasn’t really pulled any trees so I guess we dodged a bullet there.
Where’s Bamford?
No Mystic the CB that is linked from Basle.
He’s Turkish-Swiss lol.
What a combo.
According to Daily Telegraph, Newcastle has drawn up a shortlist of managerial targets, which is headed by Vierira, Arteta and Gerrard. Since Gerrard wants to stay in SPL, it may come down to our two ex_players. Imagine if Arteta leads Newcastle and beats Arsenal, we’ll have to face the musics from Pedro.
Pierre it’s hard to watch ozil play if you don’t have an HD stream
Not actually joking
He vanished so badly for such large spells of games that without an HD picture it can be genuinely hard to be sure he’s on the pitch for large parts of it. Just this mess of pixels kinda floating around as irrelevant as can be
I’ve watched countless low quality streams when my net went bad and with the sound off ozil disappears off the face of the earth faster than you can say chances created
If arteta takes over Newcastle and has a great season I will say well done to the guy I seriously hold nothing against the guy. I resent the fact that he’s being talked of for the hot seat of a club as big as arsenal with such minimal experience He will learn more in a year at Newcastle than he did in the last 2 or 3 at city. If he comes through the season successfully maybe it’s just a lucky start or maybe he’s the real deal. Either way I’ll give him all the credit in the world when… Read more »
I think we can all give a match rating for Ozil already can’t we when Arsenal play Liverpool away early in the coming season.
It will be on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being absolute premium.
That’s how pathetic it is having Mesut Ozil as a “star” player.
Or he doesn’t play at all or get selected for the match which won’t be a great surprise will it. His handful of fans would probably prefer this scenario so his myth of super stardom continues unharmed.
Saliba is done according to Canal+ at around £22 Million.
He will be loaned back to St Etienne for next season.
Turkish Swiss?
Now I don’t support racism but seeing that combo raises my blood pressure if we’re talking about players arsenal might sign
Cesc well despite me being unhappy with the loan arrangement, I’ll be positive about the signing itself if it’s true
This is what I mean. The club need to give the fans a bone. We might not be able to fix half our problems this summer but we as fans need to see that there’s genuinely positive stuff going on
If it really happens I’ll shelve my disappointment about the loan deal until holding gets injured and mustafi bangs in a 49 yard screamer into his own net
So my silence should last 2 or 3 games at least haha
Saliba and Comert looking likely to be the CB recruits then.
Tierney at LB.
Arsenal rumoured to still be looking for a CM, box to box player and winger.
Yeah it’s purely about football of course.
The Turks have no history of producing good CBs in fact quite a few of them are seen as hot headed defenders. Marry this up with a large dollop of Swiss and you have shit for defender lol.
Martinelli in Leicester square
https://twitter.com/jimmy_chilides?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
China1 Yeah I’m not a fan of the loan but apparently the player wants it and his reasoning is solid. Another year of development with focus on him now in a league where he can continue to develop his all round game without intense pressure and instant judgement. I think the club looked at reality. No UCL football means limited funds and limited pull. Probably meant the top targets like Upamecano and Umtiti were off the table. So you look around and think about what you get for £20-30 Million, some 26 or 27 year old CB who might turn… Read more »
” Imagine if Arteta leads Newcastle and beats Arsenal, we’ll have to face the musics from Pedro.”
As much as I appreciate all the time and effort Pedro puts into the blog his Arteta thing is bonkers. If Arteta is a disaster at Newcastle Pedro will find a long list of excuses as to why it’s not his fault – all the while ignoring the issues he would have had to deal with at Arsenal.
A lil Belgian fella turns us down to play for Brighton…
Tells you something bout the club.
Well said
Marc with c
RSPC
You seem a little more cheerful today?
Or is that not as depressed as yesterday!
It’s obvious that the new team is working very hard behind the lines
It’s obvious they are leaving no stone upturned by making and making inquiries about every player that is possibly available.
I made the point the other day about how more than one player could be unveiled at the same time because some deals are pretty much done already. Wenger eagle took out his frustration on me at the time.
I expect we will sign 4-6 players when it’s all said and done.
* It’s obvious they are leaving no stone unturned by making inquiries about every player that is possibly available.
second bite at the apple
Wonder if Martinelli is going to be used in the kit launch then?
Suggests that Arsenal regard as something more special than simply a young punt.
Either that or they’ve misjudged the fan base if they think we’re going to start slapping ourselves silly over him.
I suppose it’s a little bit extra hype and attention for the kit at the end of the day though.
I too am not happy about signing up a defender and loaning him straight away but I’m absolutely delighted with what his signing represents for the club going forward. Actual scouting and signing up of proper highly regarded young prospects. Speaks of a long term plan in the transfer market. Unheard of at Arsenal previously
Dissenter
I agree.
I think they are working hard behind the scenes.
Everything they do though is a painstaking decision because the money is limited and once it’s gone it’s gone with seemingly very few bites from buyers for our shit.
It’s probably like a complex equation where they are trying to get all the pieces and make all the various payments in terms of amounts and schedules of payment work out.
Ishola
That’s like saying 3very England goalie is good cos of Gordon banks…
Tierney signing is one of life mysteries… I bet no one making this decision has actually stepped foot in Glasgow and watched the lad play…
_________
*sigh* why I still read CG’s comments is one of lifes greatest mysteries..
Emery has seen Tierney play… PSG played Celtic in the group stage of the CL in 2017. One of the matches was in Glasgow. Also we employ scouts … Also, your a troll, also your not a very smart troll.
So what do I win with your dumbass bet.. ?
In saying that sign up this Comert lad for a packet of biscuits and we’re back to signing up shite
A lil Belgian fella turns us down to play for Brighton
That’s not true
Regarding defences Stroller and top four Chelsea losing Hazard coupled with not having Sarri as manager any more could quite easily see them going back to basics this coming season and being more defensively responsible as a team. And they are capable of being quite a sound defensive team.
Spurs have better defensive personnel not only in defence but midfield also.
It’s really hard to see Arsenal make any real inroads on the defensive side especially if Xhaka and Mustafi are still parading in the first team.
I’ll be much happier if we start seeing links to midfielders.. we have to replace Ramsey if nothing else.. and Xhaka if we want to be competitive.. not even going to touch the Ozil/ Miki situation today.. I think Pierre has done enough talking about Ozil today.
Can Chris Sutton STFU
R.S.P.C.Arsenal
“That’s like saying 3very England goalie is good cos of Gordon banks…”
Well England have produced good goalkeepers down the years or at least pretty good standard.
Granted Joe Hart was a clown.
Name me one Turkish CB that even passes pretty good standard CB.
Samesong
Unfortunately and as much as I’d like him to the answer is no.
Ishola
Not only have Chelsea lost Hazard but Higuian’s loan has finished so they’ll be starting the season with only Giroud as a striker.
I do like the look of this Szoboszlai.
Could prove another smart investment for £10-15 Million.
Cesc
Yeah but can you pronounce it?
Looks like Arsenal is planning a big event on July 1 to promote the Adidas shirt. Wonder which players will be asked to model the new shirts? Would they also present some new signings during the event?
Graham, CC, ES
Agreed.
Arsenal fc is in a precarious position.
This is really no joke.
Unless Stan steps forward and commits to the club in a more effective and meaningful way, we could be left very far behind.
The prevailing attitude on here was that we’d just waltz back into contention post wenger. All we needed was a manager who was better tactically.
That seems naive now.
That said, it’s early days in this summer’s window.
Let’s see what the new crew come up with.
Said last Saturday Ornstein should’ve shut his cakehole regarding Tierney unless fee was agreed.
He’s riled up half of Glasgow.
Glad to learn that Martinelli is finally not a shoe brand.
Hmmm well we did have to replace SZczcczczcesny for players with z’s in their names in place of vowels.
https://arseblog.news/2019/06/fenerbahce-linked-with-mustafi-contact-players-agent/
Please
Marc
It does sound like a spell a Harry Potter villain would say.
Paulinho
If Celtic take the piss too much I would talk away. If they start talking about £30 Million or more I would leave it. Even £25-30 Million is steep for an SPL player.
£20 Million with ad ons is more than reasonable.
He’s riled up half of Glasgow.
The thick half I’m sure
Marc
Chelsea have some super-talented youtb players who have been on loan every where. Tammy Abrams is one of such. They have players that won the UEFA youth CL ahead of Barca and Juventus academies.
Then they have that bizzare loan policyt of buying reasonably okay players like Piazon and Izzy Brown.
My point is that Chelsea could actually exceed all expectations and be closer to city that 5th place. This could be the season where all that work on their academy system pays off.
If Fenerbahce come in for Mustafi I guarantee it is a loan.
Some of the commentary from some Scottish pundits about this Tierney transfer has been appalling. It’s almost like they are trying to use the Tierney deal to declare Scottish nationalistic glory or something. ..”Wamba Saka went for xxx, so Tierney is worth as much”.
That lad is not worth more that 20 million,
Marc
“Not only have Chelsea lost Hazard but Higuian’s loan has finished so they’ll be starting the season with only Giroud as a striker.”
lol I don’t think losing Higuain at this stage of his career is a great loss to any side with pretensions really.
But as you indicate yes Chelsea could be short in offensive terms which could well translate to them going back to basics and being a pretty sound defensive side.
These Italian clubs seem to like 2 year loan deals with obligation to buy.
Why is that?