Have you ever wondered about those adults that share videos of kids bullying other kids in the playground online… then do you wonder about the people that retweet and weigh in on the subject matter… then the politicians who respond to the weird adults expecting government intervention?
Aren’t there a lot of pathetic people out there.
… but none more pathetic than me. I destroyed a 30-minute podcast yesterday with Alex. Then risked my job by recording another one with him during the day… then conspired to accidentally push the yet to be identified only button that could delete a whole section of audio (maybe the delete button)
I am ashamed.
One thing that wasn’t destroyed yesterday were the hopes that we’d sign the Flamengo centre back, Pablo ‘great hair’ Mari. The deal is complicated because we want a loan and they don’t, quite a fundamental difference you’d have thought the club would have solved before sending him here on a 14-hour flight, but here we are.
There are also rumours that we’re still interested in signing Matviyenko from Shaktar in some kind of bargain bucket double swoop. I’m struggling with that idea considering how awful our financial situation seems to be.
One thing I have been pondering is why the club seems to be run like no one considers the future. We’ve gone from planning our finances with a view to the year 2156, to not thinking much beyond the weekend.
We exited the Europa League
Continued to spend big
Missed out on Champions League
Continued to spend big
Took our wage bill to £230m+
Now it looks like there will be no Champions League again…
… and we’re so skint, we can’t fork out £8m for a centre back.
This isn’t the future we asked for. We’re a club that generates £400m+ and we can’t muster a deal for a player where we spend £8m over 5 years.
That is pretty bad planning.
What the hell is our summer going to look like?
Our next game is at the weekend, we take on Burnley, who were resurgent until they lost to Norwich in the cup. Huge game for Mikel, he needs to keep the momentum going and we need a win to push ourselves away from the relegation zone.
After that, the team heads out to Dubai for a mini-break. Warm weather, recuperation, and some more time with the backroom team to adapt to the future.
… Giroud to Spurs, he wouldn’t, would he?
Listen to my podcast. Sounds is good, but I had to do the transfer bit on my own.
Hello there
Numero uno
Trophy
Trophy
Trophy.. Finally
Woohoo
Wouldn’t blame giroud for going to Tottenham, Lampard has shown little respect for his obvious quality.
Jose has always liked a physical presence up top and giroud fits the bill.
Pedro, thoughts on the rumors of us potentially trying to rehabilitate Thomas Lemars career?
“… Giroud to Spurs, he wouldn’t, would he?”
I’m sure he would!! lol
Good luck to Giroud the guy gets goals.
Really can’t agree with the attack on Woodward’s home by so
called fans .
There are other way’s to make a point .
Shitbags.?
David Ornstein @ David_Ornstein
Arsenal agree deal with Flamengo to sign 26y Spaniard Pablo Mari on loan + option to buy. Fulfils Arteta request for left-footed centre-back. #AFC could make 1 more loan signing before deadline. Indication is Mustafi has ankle sprain so not as serious as 1st feared @TheAthleticUk
It is on sky as well. One good thing to come out of this is mustafi isn’t playing for us in a while.
Guendozi against Bournemouth “As per Sofascore, he won a ridiculous 14 total duels, completed all five of his attempted dribbles, and made four tackles too. The former Lorient man also helped dictate the game for the north Londoners, enjoying 88 touches, and accurately delivering seven of his nine attempted long balls.” Don’t understand the people that see nothing in Gwendolyn, I mean sure he’s inconsistent and needs to cut out some of the bullshit he does and needs to be a bit stronger and not count on the ref to bail him out every time he falls over but he’s… Read more »
Has anyone commented that Martinez was terrible the other night?
@kenyangunner : just me, apparently.
Still in moderation?
Free at last!!
Martinez was dodgy as hell against Bournemouth. Pepe was also pretty average to say the least. Other than that, the rest of the team were all 7 out of 10 or higher.
The problems started when we signed elney, Xhakalson, extended ozils contract, signed mikhi, all players that cant carry the team hence no champions league, yet some have to play so that theres no mutiny
The players on lower wages at the club are the ones that can move the club forward, Arsenalization is real!
Im telling you this for free!
Marc
Wasn’t it you betting a cold beer on a sunny day that Pablo is not gonna sign for us.
Well he surely isnt coming to pick up a forgotten backpack now , is He?
Is the Cedric Soares interest real? Havent seen any credibile sources linking him with us.
Sid
You are giving so much valuable stuff for free, it feels like someday you are gonna drop a bomb of a bill on this site which will be impossible for us to pay for.
😆
Still out on Pepe.
Not convinced he is bringing much to the team.
Last ball in play is very Walcott..
Takes a great dead ball but goes missing to much .
At best average but we will see.
Hats off to Mustafi’s natural fitness.
Man is never injured and even after landing in a hellish posture his ankles seems to be just fine.
Beast of a body he’s got. He couldve been such a fine defender.
Anyone else notice that Spuds new signing Steven Bergwijn is a little bit…eh..chunky?
I like the way the kids are enjoying their football. It helps when there are many kids playing at the same time. Once we are safe from the drop, the priority should be shifted to the Europa competition. We could let the kids take over the EPL games.
As for Burnley, their attack is mainly long ball into the box and goes for first and 2nd ball. It would be too soon to send Mari out to play them.
“Ed Woodward: Manchester United executive vice-chairman’s home attacked by fans”
lol manure, the best fans in the world.
No school today ??
It is clear to me that Arsenal are not going to win any trophies with our current squad and indeed are likely to finish in top 4 in EPL and qualify for Champions League. We have had in Wenger a manager/coach who was past his sell by date for 10 years and we recruited Emery who had very poor communication skills and was frankly not a great coach. The outcome was that Arsenal’s recruitment and development of players in recent years was awful and reached its nadir this season. Last summer we offloaded a lot of players and the current… Read more »
The histrionics over the Pablo Mari deal is understandable
We’ve been asking for Arsenal to take our transfer business to other geographical parts of the world, especially South America. The drama we witnessed is unfortunately not unusual with South American transfer. The Flamengo president seemed to be working in his self esteem as he trashed the deal in the media.
I suspect they wanted to bully us and we called their bluff.
HL
Those cakes aren’t for eating you spanner, they go in the urinal. Back to work.
–
Pablo Mari a good deal on paper, brings some traits we miss from defence and there’s no obligation. We’ve done well there to salvage that one from the ashes of embarrassment.
HL
“No school today ??”
You’re the bus driver, you should know. lol lol
IMO, I believe Ozil will get dropped. Arteta grace period for some games will be lost.
I’ll think he’ll be saved or utilized in home games only. Away from home he’s always found wanting.
Burnley will isolate him, and be very physical.
Matty G had a good game the other night. Once he bills up a bit, he’ll be a little menace in that midfield for other teams. We’ve cried out for ages someone who loves to wind up and gives it back to other teams.
The fact Ceballos hasn’t worked for us so far doesn’t make him a dud by the way, you’re so desperate to say “i told you so” or “I predicted it” that it’s quite sad
Jesus you’d think a bloke your age would have been around long enough to develop some patience? How many times down the years have we seen players come in from other leagues and take time to adapt? Countless.
Says this and then goes on to say Ceballos who’s also new to the league is a dud
I know Pepe is so one footed. Surprised Arteta hasn’t thought about getting him on the left for a game or two.
Run at defenders whip balls in without having to cut back all the time?
Does he put Martinelli back on the bench to remind him he’s still not a senior player yet or keep giving him the freedom to perform?
I feel the Mari deal will happen with a solution that both clubs find acceptable. By increasing the loan fee to 4.5m it means that Flamengo have finance to replace Mari and we have the opportunity to cut our losses if we don’t want to sign him permanently. If we do decide to buy then the increased loan fee can be taken into consideration when negotiating the transfer fee. It’s just a shame that negotiations should be so public but not much one can do if a selling chairman appears to like the sound of his own voice and journalists… Read more »
Still bantering as a club. Edu is a sham.
As for Soares? Oh deary me.
Sell Auba and spend on a CB and midfielder. Job done.
Yea but he’s been injured hasn’t he? Weren’t you the one wanting Patience with Holding who’s just back from injury and now somehow can’t extend same to the Spaniard, one who starts for one of the most talented national teams in the world by the way
Willock hasn’t shown anything to prove a better option than Ceballos by the way and in my opinion too
Willock and cabellos are both shit.
Bob N16
South American transfers can be messy. Club presidents are typically elected so they have to appeal to the public more often.
Tim Vickery has been talking about the different way transfers are done in Brazil.
Ceballos is a good footballer but he was a poor choice to recruit given we lost goals and penetration from midfield in Ramsey (even Iwobi).
We brought in tapas Ozil. He won’t be staying here, and the manager absolutely tanked, so no harm done ultimately.
Ceballos isn’t dud. You think adapting your game in a new environment with different tactics and language is easy? How long did it take Cristiano Ronaldo to adapt to La Liga? You forget he’s been unlucky with injuries too.
Burnley’s really gonna be tough.
This is Tim Vickery’s take on the Pablo Mari deal
https://talksport.com/football/661790/arsenal-transfer-target-pablo-mari-man-city-mistake/
He’s also been talking about the Flamengo president and his penchant for drama. We shouldn’t shirk away from doing good transfers in South America because we think we might be embarrassed in my opinion.
Batistuta
‘ Willock hasn’t shown anything to prove a better option than Ceballos by the way and in my opinion too’
Neither has Ceballos proven to be better than Willock
I think the manager is right to err on the side of giving the academy player more playing time. You would think the Spanish connection would tip the scale in favor of ceballo
Pablo Mari will give us a chance to play a pressing game with a high line.
It will be hard for him because the Brazilian season is just starting preseason so may not be anywhere near full fitness.
Just like how Celtic conducted themselves on the Tierney deal is the same way the Flamengo chairman did. Just trying to save some dignity with their fans but the deal was always gonna happen.
About Mari being slow; I know little of him but I prefer a slow but effective body at the back than a fast headless chicken. Most of the WC defender ain’t quick or tall. Being tall is an advantage but its not indicative whether one will be success at the back or not.
Un
I would keep Saka and Martinelli in the team. That is a combination worth developing.
School at home, even better.
Mustafi is not so quick to dive in and go to ground these days and he is a better player for it. As Arteta said this week, a player is never to old to learn. If Arteta gets the best out of players like Mustafi and xhaka, it is a no lose situation. We can either sell for a much higher price in the summer or if Arteta deems then good enough , then keep them. If Mari does come on loan , I’m not sure if he will get the game time as we will have 5 centre backs.… Read more »
.
DissenterJanuary 29, 2020 10:51:35
The drama we witnessed is unfortunately not unusual with South American transfer
Replace “south america” with the word Arsenal
Dis
“You would think the Spanish connection would tip the scale in favor of ceballo”
You are wrong. They were traditional enemy in Spain.
Un
“4 goals to 1 says different
So does the performance against Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Keep trying”
Interesting that they were both away games that he put in good performances, maybe he feels under less pressure away from home.
Of the 7 goals he has scored for the club , 5 have been away from home which is unusual.
Ozils fanboy shouldnt talk about willock it might jinx him.
Im not mentioning names!
I get that we have a crap points tally but we need the win to get closer to top 5, not to escape relegation
There’s as much chance of us getting relegated as us finishing top 2 this season I tell you
Arteta is clearly doing enough that our survival in the premiership need not be part of any conversation regardless of the fact the results haven’t fully materialized yet.
If we win 5 of our next 6 matches we’d probably be top 5. There’s that little in it
Ship caballos out.fast.an overrated crab that runs like a duck with little to offer than tippy tappy around the pitch with next to nothing in creativity.need I say anymore.
Burnley on Sunday by the way will be a battle.Expect plenty of on & off the ball with likes of Ashley “ elbows “Barnes etc.please,please no wimps playing ( ozil) or it could be a very frustrating afternoon.Hopefully a half decent ref.But I’m sure Riley will line up an Arsenal stitch up merchant if he can.
I think willock has some very useful qualities but he’s particularly inconsistent so I’m wary of expecting much from him.
If he fulfills his potential he will be a beast but first he needs to work on his consistency as he tends to be amazing for one game and very quiet for the next 3 or 4.
If he can reverse those stats he’d be a really valuable asset for us. I hope arteta can help him on this
Flamengo just announced Pablo Mari’s departure
Un
Me too.
Re Pablo Mari; If we are paying a loan fee that high for a 6 month loan then surely it’s with a view to making it permanent in the summer.
I don’t want expensive rejects like Lemar
Let’s wait till the summer.
Maybe Arteta can find another city reject playing in Thailand
Dissentelr.
Guess we’ll rather lose 5 million quid than get saddled with another average player for 3 to 4 years.
I suspect that there was a misunderstanding between Edu and Raul regarding Mari’s transfer. The Suarez and Ceballos deal are good reminders that Raul is very forceful regarding a loan deal. Edu probably thought that a 7.5m fee for Mari is quite acceptable. By increasing the loan fee, the risk is now shared by both parties.
Finally the deal is over the line. IMO i don’t think the loan deal is £4.5m. It might be the amount we have to pay to make the deal permanent. I don’t think we messed up the deal. We showed some balls that we ain’t pushovers anymore. Also may be the likelihood of Mari wanting to play in Europe may have helped conclude the deal. Well done to Raul and co.
Thorough
How much do you think Mari’s wages would be?
Even if we triple his wages, he would still be earning similar wages to Nkettiah.
At its worst we have a squad player desperate to make his mark in Europe. It’s a good deal imo
Kay
You may just be right about that loan fee of 4.5 million. That fee is excessive for a 6 month loan
I’m sure the player went back to Brazil and raised holy hell
They bought him for 1 million and should have just taken the money.
“Re Pablo Mari; If we are paying a loan fee that high for a 6 month loan then surely it’s with a view to making it permanent in the summer.”
I reckon the recruitment team have a no1 cb target thats unattainable until the summer window but at the same time are concerned about being caught short defensively between now and May
Un nai I agree which is why I won’t get ahead of myself with him as a lot of young players have some great qualities and never make the next step
I’m all for giving him, Nelson and Eddie minutes as and where appropriate and don’t expect too much from any of them in the short term. Flashes of brilliance will be enough for now, but cementing some form of level is the next stage of development which many will not manage. Good luck to them
When willock is good he’s really really good
I would rather lose 3-4 mil than signing him at 8 mil for 5 years. It is a good deal. If he turns out to be good we will purchase him If not we didn’t pay everything for him and he is not stuck with Us. Good things about him from the videos are his positioning and his passing abilities. He is also left footed which will make our play wider with Xhaka at left back when we attack. Negatives are he is a bit slow and he needs a sweeper player next to him. You can’t have two sweepers… Read more »
So, Mary finally to Arsenal, it seems. Better late than never.
Mari… lol sorry.
I would never sign a £4.5 million loan fee player for my months ….if I didn’t intend to make the deal permanent . That’s a lot of money down the drain if you’re not committed to making it permanent. This reported high loan fee has more to do with Raul’s approach of deferred payments that not being certain if the player’s quality. I don’t believe we just randomly stumbled into Pablo Mari. I choose to believe that good ‘ole scouting led us to him. The same type of scouting that gave us Martinelli who United had turned down after FOUR… Read more »
Not really over the moon with Mari tbh. I wanted a bit more faster CB than Mari.
Insane the amount of CBs we got in the squad right now.
Willocks biggest advantage is nobody in the squad is similar to him. He has that rare Ramsey quality for being able to drive forwards on the ball between the lines and also arrive late in the box for goals. If arteta wants an industrious midfield behind his attack then willock has the qualities to be a very useful presence in the middle to break the lines. I’d rather we were giving minutes to him than ozil for this reason even if he is still very inconsistent. By the summer we can evaluate if he’s likely to be ready for the… Read more »
Tim Vickery has a high opinion of Mari – hope he is right as opposed to the pessimism of RP who has great perception of players – hope he is wrong in this case
* I would never sign a £4.5 million loan fee player for six months
Mari I’m open minded about. We’ll see how this one goes I suppose
‘Not really over the moon with Mari tbh. I wanted a bit more faster CB than Mari.’
His history doesn’t provide excitement sure but to knock him down for a lack of pace is just so le-grove
It’s not like we are seeking talent to run the 100m for the 2020 Olympics.
Mari was recruited by the Flamengo coach because he has enough pace to play the high line which is exactly what Arteta is looking for.
I get the feeling that some may be reassured if there were more zeros attached to his transfer fee.
Spuds have signed a fatso..Ha
Hopefully this Mari chap hit the ground running ASAP I mean the signing did cause some mild fiasco for a supposedly average player,
he has to be good enough at least to ensure we don’t see Mustafi in the first team again.
Now get in Lemar and we might actually do something exciting yet this season
Would be some scene really considering the mood at the club a few weeks back under Unai.
Dissenter
We paid 2.25 mil for Denis Suarez.
I really don’t think 4 mil is suddenly outlandish, it’s a bit more up front to give the club a ‘walk away’ option and save themselves an additional 6 mil plus 4 years wages at 60k a week (circa 11.5 mil).
Pablo Mari announced on the dot com
https://www.arsenal.com/news/pablo-mari-join-club-loan
@Victorious : “In an interview with Goal, Gil Marin, the general manager of the Colchoneros, spoke about Thomas Lemar, very demanded this winter (Arsenal or Bayern Munich). “He’s not for sale, there is no way he can go,” he said.”
The loan fee looks high but we will definitely buy him.
The loan element of 4m was purely to spread the cost. Even If he’s turd you may as well pay the extra 3 and sell him to championship where you would surely get near your money back on him.
I’m not worrying about the high loan fee.
Mari deal done
CC
That POV you mentioned is weighty but Dennis Suarez was on Barcelona wages.
This guy just went to Flamengo 8 months ago for €1 million and was on Brazilian league wages. I don’t expect Mari to earn more than Nkettiah even if we quadruple his salary. That quoted fee is astronomical for 6 months.
I think the question is what led us to Mari, is it just contacts from Arteta probably knowing about him from his city links or good old scouting?
“We have an option to make the deal permanent in the summer.” I like this aporoach, not every player takes to the Premier league, it’s unique in its demands. Case in point Ceballos who is an excellent player but he just haven’t adapted, injuries hasn’t helped either of course but still. No harm done except seeing Ozil on the pitch too much doing nothing, just ship him back and try again. In the price range and type of buys we’re looking for, outside our primary targets, there’s always a risk, we’re doing everything we can to protect our interests and… Read more »
“ Good luck to Giroud the guy gets goals.” …
… against shit teams (ergo his goal against us most notably in the ECF). I vaguely remember a 17 game goalless steak for us. He’s shit. Told my Chelsea mates he would be shit and by and large he was. And is.
So in summary: As one piece of small Spanish garbage with a goatee leaves on loan ( Cebollas) Another taller piece of Spanish garbage with a goatee arrives on loan ( Mari) And we don’t need either, thank you very much. Both will be flops. (And you all know it too.) As we witnessed the other night- we have plenty of fine array of young Arsenal players coming trough the ranks. E..g Holding and Wiliock How refreshing we for once tried to emulate serious clubs like Liverpool and actually have a strategic transfer policy- rather than buy players just for… Read more »
CG
How about giving a new player a chance before you start slating him? Bizarre concept I know.
He has come here reportedly at Arteta’s request so he clearly has a plan for him.
Your constant negativity is tedious and boring.
Dissenter
Astronomical? Utter rubbish. How do you classify the Suarez transfer figures involved again?
You expect a defender to be bought for the first team to be on the same wage as a youth player on the fringes of the side? Totally logical.
Is official
*It’s
TheBayingMob,
Hate to sound like a typo Nazi but a 17 game goalless “steak” sounds a bit rare – and not very tasty!
Going to the chavs is one thing but joining the enemy would not just be an abomination but open betrayal as well
Giroud was well loved here and I can’t imagine him doing something so daft,he is a top lad and appears to be a very reasonable and consumable professional as well
It’s a bit rich to blame the Flamengo chairman for the Mari transfer debacle. A deal to purchase for 7.5m had been agreed by both parties, then Arsenal changed the goal posts and requested a loan instead.
Place seems awfully quiet even for a day we have a signing in the bag
Where has everyone gone to? How about legrove’s transfer expert Marko?Baffling
Wasi Same with Xakha Never injured. Always plays. Always starts. Got to take your hat off. Man is robust. The old Albanian blood True that Un People crying out about the loan fees. This is the January window. Its verg hard to do a deal on your terms when you are desperate to shore up a weak position. The selling party knows that and therefore demands a premium. Instead of moaning about the loan fees being too high and blaming Raul just because. Try to see and understand the deal fron another perspective. It was Raul’s contacts (as reported) that… Read more »
At the end of the day as long as he’s not worse than mustafi and we can flog mustafi to some poor sods for a higher fee than mari’s in the summer, we’ll be in the money at no real cost to the club in terms of quality
Ofc if he’s actually a good player then it’s a tidy piece of recruitment
Giroud gets goals???. On which planet?. Went to WC didnt score a single goal. Cant get starts ahead of Tammy and cant get minutes ahead of Batshuayi. Just like us to pine for the dregs that Wenger bought us.
Aussie, has it been a debacle? We’ve got the player, the deal appears reasonable.
The fact that the Flamengo President has been more vocal, doesn’t necessarily mean Arsenal were playing silly buggers and that Flamengo are the voice of reason.
It’s a bit rich to blame the Flamengo chairman for the Mari transfer debacle. A deal to purchase for 7.5m had been agreed by both parties, then Arsenal changed the goal posts and requested a loan instead.
Dont think its true. No reputable reported as such.
The debacle was probably the Athletico President’s doing as he probably wanted to secure a replacement first.