Arsenal are probably not going to extend our Dani Ceballos past his current loan deal, which makes you wonder if we’re going to use him in any sort of capacity over the next batch of games. Would it be wise to play him when you could give Joe Willock some games?
That’s the major talking point for me. Does Arteta think about next season, or does he get the job done with the best of what he has?
I suspect he’s going to go all out at 1) Finishing in the top 4 2) Winning a trophy
The thing that excites me a little is knowing that every player is going to want to fight. If you’re leaving, you want to show risk-averse clubs you are worth the cash. If you are staying, you’ll want to ingratiate yourself to the manager and make yourself a first-teamer in a squad of players that haven’t found a pattern with the new system.
I am genuinely thrilled about where this squad could go. I think there are big futures for the kids we have at the club at the moment. The hopes are high for ESR, they think he really could be something special. Martinelli, Saka and Saliba are all pretty big names already considering they are teenagers. We might get to see a run with Tierney, who has a dreamy delivery. Then there are the maybe crowd. Willock, Eddie, AMN (who found his way back into contention), and Matteo all have it in them to be big players. Then you have a whole batch of kids that are buried in the reserves that might have something special. Balogun, Greenwood, Medley and Smith
This is a good time to be an Arsenal fan. We have an exciting young coach, we have young kids that are ready to break, and the world is going to look very different for football… hopefully, we can find some stardust to add to the talent. This could shape our summer nicely, if young talent speak to Arteta, they’ll be sold… but if they see the actions of a club that gives youth the chance at a major club, they’ll be more likely to join.
If we get it right, we could be challenging for the title in 2-3 seasons. Get it wrong and it’s going to be miserable. Hopefully, the club is going to refocus on landing more of the Martinelli’s, versus some of the other bums we let in the backdoor because of special relationships.
Right, short post, see you in the comments! x
Dissenter
As everyone says you can’t judge the transfer yet as he hasn’t played a single game yet. If he does admirably will then 2.5m is amazing. If he does terrible then yes i would agree that would be a complete waste of 2.5m. Very simple
Chris
This
Dissenter it’s not really accurate to compare us directly with other companies of a similar size outside of football, because football as a business is run nothing like most comparably sized companies in the real world Football clubs tend to be far more willing to spend speculatively on highly uncertain opportunities and at top level football, you can barely buy a fart for 2.5m, so in this industry it’s considered an extremely low risk gamble relative to the market value. Football also exists in a bubble where income is more guaranteed than many other industries. As long as you don’t… Read more »
Chris
Are you suggesting that a new back-up RB [other than the ad-hoc work of PapSok or AMN] was the difference between salvation qualifying for European competition or not?
I think the midfield is where we were and are still lacking? The back up to Bellerin is so superfluous … it was like number 15 on a list of priorities till June 2020.
Soares could have been a target for the summer, that’s essentially the point I’m making.
Anyways, have a nice day. It’s good for us to disagree. .
*Are you suggesting that a new back-up RB [other than the ad-hoc work of PapSok or AMN] was the difference between qualifying for European competition or not?”
sorry, caught in two streams of thought.
‘Salvation qualifying’ has a ring to it!
AMN is a better right back or atleast equal to Soares,
signing Soares is a case of cutting your nose to spite your face.
Im telling you for free!
3421 with Nelson as a right wingback was another option to give Bellerin a break instead of signing Soreness
Fucking hell Dissenter’s turning into Valentin.
As for AMN and Sok being just OK options for RB.
AMN has been barely OK and has according to reports had run ins with Arteta.
Sok is completely unsuited to a RB position.
“If we get it right, we could be challenging for the title in 2-3 seasons. Get it wrong and it’s going to be miserable.“
History would strongly suggest we find new and innovative ways of getting it wrong.
Marc
AMN having run ins with the new manager is no big deal, it’s not uncommon for when new managers to throw their weights around all the time.
That was not a reasonable reason to seek a 2.5 million solution for less than 4 months.
“AMN having run ins with the new manager is no big deal”
Is it a bigger deal than £2.5 million?
“I think the midfield is where we were and are still lacking? ”
You want to fix the midfield with roughly 2.5m?
“The back up to Bellerin is so superfluous … it was like number 15 on a list of priorities till June 2020.”
Who did we have there
-AMN who is primarily a CM and was unhappy at playing RB.
-Sok who is slow cb and can barely play RB
Soares can also play LB where we have
-Tierney (Injured)
-Saka (a LW who was unhappy to play LB)
-Kola
Santan
And a first choice RB just back from a serious ACL injury who’s been struggling for fitness.
Bringing in a loan player for low money is not any sort of issue any where except in Dissenter’s head.
If he’s like this with all money fuck getting into a round with him.
Dissenter I wasn’t stating that Soares would have been our salvation (if that’s what you meant!) but he could have been, and in fact, still could be, of massive help in terms of achieving European qualification this term. When every point is needed it helps when you have player suited for every position. It would have been risky to rely just on Bellerin, who has been struggling for fitness and form. I won’t say much more on it because that’s simply how I see it. He was a low risk option that can still help out pay dividends. You disagree,… Read more »
Marc
Exactly
Chris
And Chamber’s out with an ACL – a player in the squad who is better suited to RB than certainly Sok and probably AMN.
Jeez – are we really discussing a bit part player who provides emergency cover that much?
£2.5m was the loose change on the Pepe deal so why are we losing sleep on it? There are many more pressing concerns.
Northbanker
And then some!
I found myself laughing as I read Micah Richards complain about being racially profiled. He said he was called the “bling king” in reference to him buying expensive cars. He said this led to him altering his behaviour. “I found myself having to act in a certain way just to fit in so people wouldn’t judge me,” said Richards.” They probably saved his bank account. He ought to be thanking those that helped make him a better person. He was called the bling king because he was the king of bling. The lad used to adorn himself with the thickest… Read more »
Hopefully we ease Mykhi off his misery and make his exit permanent.
Micah was never the sharpest tool in the box, nor was he the most dedicated player. With his physical ability, he should have done a lot more in his career. I remember the story about Patrick Vieira and Micah Richard. PV4 criticised Micah Richard for wasting his natural talent by not working hard enough: arriving late at training and not doing extra fitness or technical exercise. The Apocryphal story goes that PV4 asked him what he wanted to achieve in the game: ‘I want to play for a successful City team and play for England too.’ ‘Really??’ replied a surprised… Read more »
Sokratis for all his effort needs to be shown the door, playing at right-back for anything longer than a few minutes per games is ridiculous. He’s no longer an adequate first choice CB either.
AMN had the makings of a decent RB but his head and heart are clearly not in the position. I’d have no problem giving him Xhaka’s centre midfield minutes and then upon failure, for sure show him the door. This all depends on him respectful to MA and applying himself in training of course.
Soares is a sensible signing at the time when it was done. Heccy b was sidelined with ACL , Chambers had just suffered Acl , Niles was crying he didnt want to play there and Arteta wanted / needed to assert his authority. Sok was deployed as a desperate option and he was politely put not suitable for that role. 2.5 mil to solve so many problems at one time while also providing decent enough LB cover if required was a good deal imo. And in pre-corona and even post-corona world 2.5mil is chump change for us. As a matter… Read more »
was* a sensible…
I would have taken a decent central defensive midfielder on loan for £5millions over a £2.5 millions injured right back who was battling relegation.
Valentin – lots of them around were there?
All at £5m and so good they were unwanted by their clubs in Jan
If we’d have taken the £20 million plus we were offered fro Xhaka we’d have had more funds to go for a “decent” DM.
I think that there is too much importance attached to Maitland-Niles performance against Charlton who are currently 22nd place in Championship. I would be more impressed if he was able to perform at that level in midfield position against top level opposition in EPL. AMN is now aged 22 so clearly decisions need to be taken whether he has the potential to secure a starting place in any position if first team. My personal view based on what I have seen over last 2 years is that he does not. Clearly he does not have potential at left or right… Read more »
Nice read from Steve round. No mention of Contacts signing though
https://arseblog.news/2020/06/steve-round-talks-arteta-coaching-and-use-of-data/
Stroller,
Your assertion that Chelsea was in financial difficulties and that Roman Abramovitch was cutting them off was proven wrong one day later with the news that Chelsea was buying Timo Werner.
But if you still believe that Chelsea is in financial constraint mode. The final nail on the coffin assertion is the news that Chelsea are interested in buy Kai Havertz for £70 millions.
Looks like that mine and Terraloon belief that Abramovitch would continue to fund them was correct.
If what happen at Chelsea is what restricted is, then I wish Arsenal were so financially restricted.
I know there was talk of one of the Berlin clubs being interested in buying Xhaka an that Arteta vetoed this move. Do we know for sure that Xhaka could have been sold for 20m +? Many of us would have been very happy to take the money but did this somehow give the story greater legs than it deserved? I do feel Arteta should get a pass if this is true as he’d only been at the club a couple of weeks but clearly if it was just a rumour then any criticism of Arteta for this storyline would… Read more »
Chelsea are now Havertz’s Case? Never mind chiwell, If they sign Havertz they will be a team to fear. He is one of next generations superstars.
‘If we can attract top money for Guendouzi (£50m plus) I would be tempted to sell him and bring in Upamencano to shore up our defence.’
Yes, pls.
£50m plus for a young dude who seems to specialize in falling down and yelling at the ref to whistle would be a good deal.
Only problem is that Pablo Escobar was the only dude who could pay such money.
Bob
The reports at the time were that Xhaka wanted out and Hertha Berlin had made a bid in the region of £22 – £23 million.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11895867/granit-xhaka-arsenal-midfielder-agrees-terms-with-hertha-berlin-over-january-move
Does anyone else remember Albert Stuivenberg joining as joint Ass Manager back at the turn of the year?
I seem to have completely missed that one.
‘If we’d have taken the £20 million plus we were offered fro Xhaka we’d have had more funds to go for a “decent” DM.’
Our disco boy ran himself into a corner on that.
It had been decided that Xhaka was off for £21m or so, then our boy came and stopped the deal. What now happens if Xhaka continues to flop and no one wants him for half the price, covid considered?
Marc and Gentlebris
What is mind boggling is Xhaka will never be more than a good player at best. If you cover all his weaknesses, He will not provide you with a consistent performances for a whole season. We should have taken the money. and run. We could have targeted better players if we had done proper scouting.
Habesha
He might be able to be a “good” player in Italy or Germany but in the PL he’s not fit for purpose and is nothing more than a liability.
Do the tiny number of positives he possesses actually balance off how we have to cover for his major inadequacies?
Arteta probably thought “he has good passing and if i cover his weaknesses he will look good and go for more in the summer while playing alright/good for us”
It was definitely a mistake not to let him go
The savings for the club by moving the salaries of
Laca
Ozil
XHAKA
Mikhi
Mustafi
Plus earnings for any transfer fees obtained:
Could easily help pay for signing Partey and Upamecano
Berlin went for Toussart in the end and he didn’t even join in the winter and will join them in the summer.
Toussart is a genuine ball winner in central midfield while Xhaka isn’t so if Berlin were looking for a genuine DM in that window then they got the right man instead of Xhaka.
Marc
Totally agree on that. I hate compensating for players with major flaws in their game that can’t be Ironed out. Their positives need to outweigh the negatives massively to have them starting. And Xhaka hasn’t got enough in him. I actually think Spanish Laliga would be perfect for him. Tackling and speed aren’t the main attributes needed, Rather passing range and keeping things ticking.
Marc
“And Chamber’s out with an ACL – a player in the squad who is better suited to RB than certainly Sok and probably AMN.”
Back in the day you would have been singing Gus Caeser’s praises as a centre half.
Chambers at right back is the equivalent to Caeser at centre back….
Problems Arsenal have are simple. 1) Idiot fans that think Arsenal are still a great team. Arsenal are no better than 06 Stoke or Bolton. 2) An amateur coach who has 0 idea how to manage a game, pick a sub or pick a team. 3) Hideous players like Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Ozil etc etc etc. Ozil’s immense when he wants to be but his head hasn’t been in it for 5 years. Saka is not gonna sign in if he’s got any sense, Martinelli should bail ASAP with Auba. The only way to save Arsenal is get hold of… Read more »
Maybe Pedro can start worrying less about agents fees.
———-
The online player trading platform, Transfer Room, is being used by 13 Premier League clubs, with teams paying up to £2,500-a-month to speak directly to each other and cut out the middle men.
Arsenal are among those turning to Transfer Room, as well as Everton and Brighton, with clubs on the hunt for bargain deals this summer.
The first deal was made using Transfer Room in 2017 – with over 250 transfer agreed since – and chief executive Jonas Ankersen expects more than 100 more this summer.
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-premier-league-clubs-speed-dating-complete-transfers-a4462356.html
People who are doubting ainleys potential at centre mid are idiots. The man won a motm award playing against Pogba and matic who are two of the top midfielders in their respected positions. His learning curve at midfield was sacrificed so he could help the team at full back. He was that good that he could cover at full back. He done the job that Xhaka, torreira, guendouzi could not do. He is the missing piece that Arsenal are lacking. Not since Ramsey have we had a midfielder who can break the lines and stretch teams when needed. Not just… Read more »
In 2 years AMN will be playing for a team in a PL relegation dogfight or in the Championship.
A distinctly average player.
Pierre
Chambers as RB is better cover than anyone else we had before the loan of Soares – who is still to be judged.
I didn’t saying he was the greatest RB we’d ever seen.
Why do people even bother to think we can sign Upamencano?
We have 8 center backs so we will not be signing any center back unless we sell 5.
Anyone think we can sell 5 center backs this summer?
You do like to come across as the Sage Marc.
In real life are you as confident in your judgements or do you just knock them out of the park when it comes to your past times ?
Bob
I tend to be quite reserved on player judgement’s, if you look at my comments the 2 I regularly criticise are Mustafi and Xhaka – 2 players I watched for over 3 years now.
AMN wasn’t great at RB and certainly doesn’t seem to be showing the right attitude to get him a chance in CM if reports are correct.
Fact is – like it or not – but the vast majority of players coming through our youth system will not make it at Arsenal.
That’s not sage – it’s being aware of history.
Azed If we wanted to we could get rid of quite a few without any problem. Luiz out of contract, Mari just on loan. That’s 2 gone already. Apparently there’s a lot of interest in Mavropanos from the Bundesliga with 5 clubs keen so that wouldn’t be a problem. Chambers is injured so we can’t sell him or include him in players to be counted on next season. Sokratis has some pride so would leave if asked, don’t think it would be that hard finding a new club for him. Mustafi would be the biggest problem as usual but at… Read more »
I think AMN deserves a shot at midfield. We need to know if that Man United game was a one off or not. I think he has enough technique to be a dribbling energetic CM. The only player that has the same attributes in midfield is Joe willock in our squad. If we aren’t signing a CM that replaces Xhaka, I am willing to try him and Guendouzi alternating next season. He has ability to take on players but what let’s him down is concentration and Poor body language. If he isn’t up to it by the end of next… Read more »
We’re now linked with Thiago Silva on a free. 35 years old and on 240k a week at PSG. That would be stupid. We need to stop stockpiling CBs now. The next one we get needs to be the long term partner for Saliba. We could potentially sort that area of the pitch out for the next decade or more. Or if we need to sell one of them in the future we’ll get more than enough money to get a replacement. This having to sell 5 players to buy 1 bullshit is getting tiredsome and anyone that can’t see… Read more »
Freddie
Do you actually believe that rumour?
That we’d actually sign a 35 year old on almost £12.5 million a year salary?
Christ he’s not that much younger than Arteta.
Marc
Nope, not really. If it came true it would be worth all the outrage the Luiz and Soares deals weren’t though.
The scary part is all the Arsenal fans actually hoping we sign him. Idiots.
Freddie
Every club has a small number of “internet” fans who will make a lot of noise over players signed / not signed.
Outside of Mari I’d be amazed if we were to sign any other CB’s – now getting rid of a couple I could go for.
Freddie
I don’t trust the people running out club to be able to do it.
We still have Mkhitaryan and El-neny to offload this summer.
Marc I don’t see it either, unless we can’t get who we want in midfield and we feel someone like Upa is a player we can’t miss out on. azed We did a decent job moving on deadwood last summer, there’s just so many of them accumulated over the years, most of them on high wages, that it was always going to be slow and painful to get rid of all of them. If Auba starys I’m happy with 2 top players in. If that is 2 midfielders or a midfielder and CB doesn’t matter too much. We’re not looking… Read more »
azed
What we need is a Superhero – Super Sanllehi with his band of Super agents saving the Arsenal from mediocre players!
Freddie
There will always be players who fall out of favour or who don’t work out – our problem now is the volume of overpaid dross we’ve accumulated.
Come the end of next summers transfer window and I think we’ll be clear of the vast majority of it.
Of course by then Arteta would have won the Quadruple so it won’t matter anyway.
Marc
I really think it’s unrealistic to expect that we are going to move these dead weights on excessive wages out.
Best we can hope for is that Arteta can extract a workman performance out of them till they run out their contracts.
I mean who’s coming for Mustafi at this stage? Elneny too, who’s going to buy him. He’s going to be on loan until his contract runs out.
We don’t need another center back especially if that allows us to concentrate on fixing our I existent midfield.
Saliba partnering Mavropanos is something I’m looking forward to. If it works we may be about to sort that part of the field for the next 10 years.
Inexistent
“Saliba partnering Mavropanos”
Same guy currently playing in Bundesliga 2?
The Transfer room is only one of numerous platforms that currently try to corner the transfer market. Transfer room does not change or remove agents fees, it just allow clubs to directly initiate talk to each other. However negotiation and more importantly payments are is still taking place outside that platform. Agents can still demand illegal or egregious payments. The only way to remove such behaviour is to standardise players contract and make all transfer payments (fees, agents, …) go through a transparent clearing house system. With standardised (I said standardised not uniformed contract) adjustment can still be made, but… Read more »
I was hoping that the Mavros-mania would have worn off by now but…
Marc
If you were given the choice between trying AMN at CM and Continuing with Xhaka at CM and if we weren’t able to sign one, Whould you go for?
Freddie, just because we’re paying the little German has been £350k a week doesn’t mean we have to play him. I’m sure some of his wages must be related to appearances, wins, etc. so binning him would save some money at least. We don’t need a #10 anyway, what we need are two decent midfielders who can cover for each other and get forward and score a goal now and again. Worked perfectly well when we were winning titles…
andy1886
If you had a lease for a Lamborghini Diablo parked in your garage, wouldn’t you drive it as much as you can until the lease expires?
Ozil, like the Lamborghini is unsuited for many terrains, but can still do a job if utilized carefully.
Arteta likes him and played next to him for 3 season, don’t forget that.
As predicted by most on here: Abu stays and no incoming players!
You really don’t need to be Nostradamus to see how the future will look at Arsenal!
https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/09/arsenal-prioritise-pierre-emerick-aubameyang-contract-new-signings-12828130/
Dissenter
If the Diablo was plauged with problems and wouldn’t perform you would leave it in the garage and drive the Honda Civic. I should know I once owned a Jensen Interceptor!!!!!
Question: If we fail to get a Champions League place end of this season.. If we sold Mustafi, Chambers, Sokratis and Luiz, but brought in Thiago Silva on a free, brought Marri permanently and Saliba. Would that be good enough to challenge next season?
Would leave the 4 CB’s as Silva, Saliba, Holding and Marri. Thoughts?
Regarding Mavropanos, I like him. I remember at the end of 2018 he had played a few games in a row and looked the real deal. If it weren’t for injuries, Mavropanos and Holding could have been our first choice centre backs by now. I’d stick with both of them, Mavropanos will probably be loaned out again. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea to loan Holding to another Premiership club next season to gain his confidence back, especially if we still have more than enough numbers at the back, same game time will do him good. A decent passing… Read more »
Dissenter
“I really think it’s unrealistic to expect that we are going to move these dead weights on excessive wages out.”
Really don’t a chunk of them have contracts that run out next summer? Which is when I said we’d be free of quite a few of them – hopefully we’ll sell as many as we can.
Don’t let the facts get in your way though.
We need two midfielders not another cb bring in Partey and an attacking cm and we will be far better
“The Transfer room is only one of numerous platforms that currently try to corner the transfer market.”
Valentin – Did not know they existed, never heard of before. I always assumed there was a directory for phone numbers of execs that was kept private for all of European football. It sounds like interesting concept, facilitating connections between clubs without agents involved at beginning.
@Marc You say AMN is not good enough yet look at the stats: 4th most interceptions in the team. 10 more than xhaka More aereal battles won vs Guen + Tor 2nd for most tackles in the team top 10 for passes completed tied 4th on assists The boy is doing good for someone who is not a trained right back. His defensive nous is sorely needed to stop a leaky midfield. His passing and positioning will come with time. He has not been afforded the same opportunities as xhaka or guendouzi. Answer me this, can players glide past AMN… Read more »
Valentin
My view of Chelsea’s finances have not changed.
They are 100% dependent on Abramovich continuing to pump money into the
club.
No other club is run in this fashion not even PSG or Manchester City.
At some point Abramovich will no longer be around and then the question will
be who can or will be prepared to buy the club unless the debt is written off?
There is absolutely no commercial sense or fiscal prudence in what is being
done there.
Emiratesstroller
Chelsea were always going to come in strong this summer window, even without Abhramovic backing them . Remember they still have the 100m or so for Hazard, plus another 50m coming in for Morata, Champions League money still sitting there,and they’ve only brought in Kovacic over the last 18 months . Financially, they’ll be one the strongest sides in Europe this coming window.
Danny M.O
Good stats regarding Maitland-Niles. I read an article earlier about his performance in the middle of the park against Charlton, apparently he stood out in the box to box role. It makes sense really, he’s got the required energy for that position, he’s quick, a good passer, his final ball has improved over the last couple of years, and as your stats suggest, he’s capable defensively.
I’d like to see him given a run of games in midfield. He’s still only 22, we could have a gem of a midfielder sitting there without realizing it.
Overmars
I thought that Chelsea bought Pulisic in anticipation of Hazard’s departure.
The main point is that Chelsea are operating in a fashion, which no other serious business would do in current economic climate.
Most other businesses are cutting their cloth to meet their needs.
Stroller
Either way, the transfer ban has actually worked in their favor. They’ve held on to their money over the past year or so and discovered the likes of Abraham, Reece James, Mount, Gilmour and Tomori. Now they’re sitting on a couple hundred million whilst everyone else will be cutting costs. Money doesn’t always guarantee you success, but I’d watch out for them next season.
Overmars
Let us see the true financial picture when Chelsea’s accounts are published. I doubt that they are sitting on a couple of hundred million as you suggest.
There are very few well run businesses coming out of this pandemic which will be in good shape.
Just three months ago we were told how Spurs were flourishing financially.
Now we see the impact following the Bank of England loan.
ES When the accounts are published you won’t get a true picture as the next trading year will be the best part of halfway through.Also none of the incomings or outgoings will reflect in the 2019/20 accounts The Spurs businesses model was very finely balanced and the £100 million that they will be short in terms of match day income, the costs involved in sacking Poch, the cost of Mourinho, the probable loss of 2020/21 CL money and the fact that they have to a degree pushed the boat out in the two last transfer windows came together and have… Read more »
Ignore the last sentence I thought I had deleted it.
Azed. Saliba partnering Mavropanos”Same guy currently playing in Bundesliga 2? Just like Gnabry before him who couldn’t get a game for west brom? Or Benaccer and Adelaide who were struggling at u 23? And Donnyell Malen who couldn’t break into our first team? If there’s something we’ve learnt it’s that we need to pay attention to these boys and give them a proper chance before we throw them off the cliff. Ffs Gnabry and Malen are worth over a 100 million. Benaccer is getting linked to Man City. Jeff had a big transfer after just 1 season out of our… Read more »
I would imagine that AMN would want to prove a lot of people wrong if he gets the chance in CM. Centre midfield is not really a position that you can be loose in possession of the football and wasteful in your passing or switch off , these are the areas that AMN need to sharpen up on. Lose the ball in the middle and the team will be punished and then the knives will be out for him from the ” I told you so’s”. Personally, I think AMN should be given a run in midfield , he has… Read more »
Terraloon
There is an interesting article in today’s Telegraph that most clubs in EPL made considerable losses in the Financial Year 18/19 and not as some suggest
profits.
This is particularly applicable to the so called 6 clubs who were seeking top
4 Champions League Qualification.
Professional Football in general has been struggling to balance its books for some time even before CV.
ES
In 2018/19 they did indeed.
This article in the DM is interesting and if I didn’t know better !!! I would be suspicious what gave the journalist the idea to write the article
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8402125/How-Chelsea-regained-transfer-market-strength.html
Well it would certainly be interesting to see an AMN and Willock midfield pairing for a few games, rather more dynamic than the current options. I’d question if we really need a so called DM. One may be more defensively inclined but if we use the Petit/Vieira model and they operate as a pairing there is no reason why it couldn’t work. I guess it goes back to working as a team rather than a group of individuals, something that hasn’t been evident recently. Re: Chelsea I saw an article recently on PL net spends over the last 5 years… Read more »
andy1886
There is no debate about Arsenal’s mismanagement and poor financial decision making in recent years.
However, the one positive is that the club is genuinely solvent albeit that the famous bank balance is reducing.
My view is that Arsenal are selling the idea that they are not in great shape to put the finances and staffing levels in order and reduce costs.
It should not be forgotten that last summer we were told that we had a limited
transfer budget and yet we spent more in that window than ever before.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8402125/How-Chelsea-regained-transfer-market-strength.html
Looks like Overmars has it spot on…well done to him I say.
Pierre
3 cheers for Overmars!
Andy The sustainable business model to a large degree is a slight of hand. The PR department really should take a bow. My view was that somehow the hierarchy at Arsenal convinced many many supporters that the positive balance sheet was the top trophy. Didn’t AW invent the term financial doping ? Yet no one ever talks about the circa £100 million additional shares created in Arsenal to accommodate Granada Media. The irony is that in one breath so many wan Football to be run as a business yet when the owner puts money in people cry foul . Wish… Read more »
ES
Your view is that Arsenal are selling the idea.
Ok what’s that based on ? Hope ?
Chelsea ( Roman) 5 Arsenal ( Stan) 0 That’s league championships. People continually underestimate Roman and Chelsea. They are now the London club – we used to be. We are now just a middling, piddling and pretty irrelevant outfit in comparison. They are run fit for purpose and poised for more trophies in the next decade. We are just fit to be a better version of Brighton H.A. Ps.Has this teenager Saka signed yet? If not, why not? Chelsea would have it done months ago. (Arsenal 2020 cant even get a bloody teenager who had 15 games to sign a… Read more »