Well, here he is. Willian. The man, the myth, the explosive ball carrying winger from Brazil.
I think I can safely say that 99% of Arsenal fans are very excited about him. He’s not leaving Chelsea on a downward curve and he has arrived at Arsenal a wanted man. I think most of us are excited because you can clearly see what Mikel is going to do with him. He’ll be our creative outlet, one that we’ve lacked, and he’ll play centrally. It makes so much sense. The age thing is a bother, but really, as a #10, he could easily play there for 2-3 good years.
The murkier part of this deal is there appears to be some smoke and mirrors with regards to what we’re paying him. The actual cost of his weekly wages went from £150k a week and was slowly leaked down to £100k, which sounded great. Sami Mokbel gave us a fuller picture, suggesting that after loyalty bonuses, signing on fees, and whatever other sweeties they put in the deal… it looks more like £220k a week. Then there’s Kia. He’ll be getting his own chunk of the deal, no doubt.
This signing though, feels like one that we really did need. Yes, I’d have preferred Arsenal go out and find the next Julian Brandt, but it is what it is, and Willian has the exact sort of experience that could be very beneficial next season. We’re hoping mainly on the curve of age doesn’t apply to him, but for next season, he’ll be great.
This story dropped nicely over the other bombshell news. Arsenal (I hear Tim Lewis), are investigating the Nicolas Pepe deal from last summer. If you’ve been following Le Grove for any length of time, you’ll know that I’ve been talking about how we do business as a concern. I wrote this piece on Lille back in January. I think we can all agree that Pepe is an exciting prospect, but it was absolutely clear at the time we’d overpaid by quite a lot of money. He’s 24 years old and not the finished article, he might still come good in a big way, but I’m not sure many were out here saying we landed value for money.
From what I understand, Arsenal is investigating all costs at the club at the moment. Tim Lewis is here to ensure that the club is operating efficiently for the new now and he’s actively auditing everything from marketing budgets, sponsorships, to… player deals (worth remembering, Arsenal were auditing electricity costs last year before the pandemic). I have no doubt most clubs are doing the same. It’s just good stewardship from Stan and Josh.
ESPN is reporting that the club is going deep on the Nicolas Pepe fee 1) how we landed on the scouting decision 2) How we negotiated the deal.
As a reminder, the guy that runs Lille originally wanted to set up a super-agent agency to rival Mendes because he saw the most profitable part of football being in how the deals were cut (fees). FIFA killed that idea when they banned 3rd Party Ownership. He took over a club instead, opting for a French club because it was cheap, and the talent in the league is very good. From what I can gather, he’s using the club to harvest players to make profit. He has Luis Campos running his scouting, and let’s be frank, the guy is a god.
The interesting thing about Lille is they’ve borrowed a lot of money. They had owed Elliot Management a chunk of money (still do I think), the clear worry that if they don’t pay it back, Lopez would see a similar fate to that of Milan’s ex-ownership. The FT gives a brilliant overview of how they operate. It is also interesting that an ex-colleague of Raul’s happens to work at Lille. Marc Ingla. He was suspended from football for some mishaps that caught the eye in France.
So in short, you probably don’t need to have attended NYU Stern to piece together why the Pepe transfer fee is of interest to KSE.
It’s also ominous that the story has been leaked to the press. Those things don’t happen by accident. I suspect there are people at the club that hate how we’re run at the moment, this is just another crank up of pressure on the new approach to business. I’ve been told Arsenal initially refused to comment on the story, ESPN getting their sources from multiple places. Again, not a good look.
I don’t imagine that’s where the club will stop probing.
What did the scouting data say about Unai Emery who told media he landed the job after Caneles recommended him? Could he build defences? No. Could he speak English? No. Did he have a reputation in Europe for commanding respect of dressing rooms? No. Why did it take so long to fire him? How was he paid out? How did we land on Denis Suarez? What was the true cost of David Luiz and why was he the solution despite having 3 months head start on Koscielny leaving? How did we arrive at the conclusion of Cedric Soares in January?
Whatever way you look at those deals, you have to admit, they lack coherence. When you are running one of the biggest clubs in the world, deals should make sense, and the reasoning should be very clear. It doesn’t look like data-centric methodology was at the heart of the thinking. If the rationale behind these deals really is heavily weighted towards super-agent opinions… is that the way to a brighter Arsenal future? Who knows, but it’s clear we finished 8th for a reason that wasn’t Arsene Wenger.
KSE should be looking at RB Leipzig in the Champions League semi-final after selling their best striker to Chelsea. They’ve been in existence for 11 years. They consistently sell top, top players, and consistently replace them at the same level. They are data-centric, they know what sort of players they should buy, and they never move from their philosophy. I’d imagine Stan might think that a more sustainable way to run a football club in a pandemic.
Then you have Arsenal… shelling out £220k a week on a 32-year-old, again. Maybe this one will work out, and I truly hope it does, but the optics are not good, regardless of how much you like the player. The same ingredients over and over again. Let’s hope Arteta has more of hand over how to make this one work for the squad. Let’s also hope this investigation leads to a more effective Arsenal.
Right, that’s me done, see you in the comments. x
Bizarre start.. that’s for sure.
Messi tripped our Canadian.
Nice one Luteo.
Midwest
Your right that I don’t have Willians number or indeed anyone that knows someone that knows someone that does have his number .
But then again I think it’s a pretty safe bet that no one that posts on here won’t have either.
My amusement is that so many are reeled in with the £100k story but dismiss with such ease stories that paint a different picture
Busquets is so slow now. He’ll retire soon.
Willian has a lot of value as a talented proven winner who works hard in training and sets an example and maybe mentors the younger guys like Saka.
Busquets
Let’s make him an offer 300k a week and all the calamari he can eat
Terra-
I don’t dismiss either story.. but I find it a bit disingenuous to start including signing on fees and performance bonuses in weekly salary figures. I think the Daily mail knew exactly what they were doing. Do we include the Fa Cup bonus in the salary now of the players for winning it last season for example. ? In general I like performance based contracts rather then guaranteed money like Ozil.
Can’t believe the Barca’s RB lost the ball so cheaply.
This could be a classic.. 4-3 not looking out of the question.
Great pass from Gnabry.
Stretch Barca’s defenders wide and you have a chance to score a goal. Really poor play from Ter Stegen and their fullbacks especially Semedo.
when the signing on fees and loyalty bonuses more than double the base salary.
Actually made me laugh.
Good match on show here though. Very attacking from both sides
this is just too easy for bayern
Bayern too strong for Barca’s defense.
The Arsenal Reject does it again!
Gnabry is absolute class. Heartbreaking that him and Malen are elsewhere looking like worldies
School boy defending, absolutely a horror show.
Gnabry is very strong physically. He has also a good shot.
This is getting embarrassing now
the fuck is this total annihilation
Pathetic Barca
Shameful Display
Holy shit boys, it’s Germany-Brazil all over again.
Bayern could push this past 7, look like scoring everytime they venture forward.
Incredible that Lewandowski is yet to score.
Words, I’m not accusing Raul of anything illegal. I’m just saying he doesn’t spend the money he has at Arsenal very well.
There’s plenty of money to be spent badly.
Lenglet is horrible. Lol @ coutinho celebrating.
Semedo makes Kolasinac look world class.
Terraloon “Quite happy when one rag says £100k a week because that might just be value for money so yep we will believe that story. Then along comes another story that suggests it could be £200+k then it’s more it’s false, it’s a lie etc etc” It’s quite simply because the people pushing the £200k stories have pushed so many lines that have been proven to be bullshit that they are now automatically dismissed. The £100k rumours also fit a more realistic narrative of where we are. Josh Kroenke has already said “we have a CL wage bill on EL… Read more »
You know what Barca need?
SUPER XHAKA – they can have him for £1.50 and a bag of jellybeans.
Are we sure Wenger didn’t take over at Barca?
Well it’s hardly a surprise is it, to anyone that has watched both these sides this season.
Barca without Messi would struggle to make top four in the PL.
A really old side, all of Messi, Suarez, Pique, Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal, Alba are well over thirty.
Semedo is a Portuguese AMN.
Fancier name, no better a player.
Bayern have scored all goals!
So Marc, the 100k journos are right and trustworthy, because it aligns with your view… but the 220k journos are nutjobs?
You are consistently incorrect on everything Arsenal, yet here we are, you presenting yourself as the only sane one.
Arsenal investigating their own transfers after you spent the last 8 months telling everyone my concerns about Raul were false.
Setien is a joke, i mean what does he bring to the table.
Makes Wenger in his later years look like an alpha out there.
100M + spent on each of Dembele, Coutinho and Griezzman and none of them is even playing for Barca. Mega money spent on attackers when defense is so shit.
Wow I knew it was gonna be bad but this has been brutal. Barca need a massive shake-up.
Barcelona basically have two RB’s on pitch in Semedo and Roberto doing absolutely fuck all just letting Bayern waltz past them. Bellerin is needed
Shakira’s bf isn’t much better. They are making Luiz and Mustafi look like a solid pairing for us.
TR7
No club in Europe has wasted more money on disaster signings than Barcelona.
They’ve dwarfed basically everyone barring Citeh for expenditure and have a paper thin squad without any genuine world class forward talent other than Messi.
Suarez looks spent sadly, amazing player in his pomp.
Pedro,
We’re not talking about illegality, just casual misuse of funds.
Actually, it is bad news for us. Now Barca will offer Auba a contract. Vidal as an attacker is a joke.
Pedro you cannot say Marc is consistently incorrect.
You or any of us have no idea what the club is paying Willian.
No point in arguing about it.
Respect points of view and have constructive debate.
Griezmann has been a poor signing. Dembele has an excuse at least
Marko – As they have no money who would you take in exchange? I don’t really fancy any of them except may De Jong or Fati. Wouldn’t swap Hector for Coutinho either.
Auba is about as far away from a Barca player as you can get. Would be a terrible fit in an attack with Messi and Griezmann.
Which sadly means that Barca will probably go and buy him, lol.
Pedro It’s not my view it fits it’s the current state of Arsenal’s finances. You can’t understand can you – I don’t have favourites. People do a good job I praise them they do a bad job I criticise them. You actually used the Daily Mail as a reference earlier – if someone had done that a year ago to say something positive about Emery you would have slagged them off no end. I would also take issue with the reported “investigation” into our transfers as it’s being portrayed on here. Why would you let a guy Sanllehi just hired… Read more »
WE
Barca should have consulted me about Coutinho and Griezzman. I could have saved them 200M plus 🙂
Antoine ‘ I can sit on a table with Messi and Ronaldo’ Griezzman has always been incredibly overrated.
Never seen Messi so ineffective. Bayern’s midfield is class.
Busquets with another disaster-class, apparently.
Said for years he an utter fraud without Xavi and Iniesta.
Un
It’s a huge rebuild that’ll take a good few years and no managers going to be given 5 minutes to do it.
I expected Barca to be bad but this is horrible. Griezmann, Coutinho and Dembele all badly spent. They were trying to get over their ex in Neymar for a long time. Horrible spending. When messi is out they are going to be fucked unless they bring in Guardiola.
Griezzman needs Giroud to be effective.
With Messi (slowly) fading, it really does feel like Barca is a team in long term decline.
Habesha
All hail the returning hero?
“No wonder wenger turned Barcelona down!!
Who’d want this job?”
Wenger will only consider qualadee teams to manage. Besides he’d rather spend the rest of his life telling anyone who’d listen that he could have managed Barca, just like he coulda signed Ronaldo and every elite player during his time.
Marc, Sami Mokbel has always, always, always been held up as a brilliantly sourced journo on here, so don’t play games on what I would or would not have said.
… and yes you do have favourites. Unai, now it’s Raul.
Un
You forgot the mighty Bayern.
Barca should have gone for Hazard instead of Griezzman.
Pedro
No I don’t not how I think about staff outside of a few players.
Remind me how Luiz cost us £24 million for one season?
Feel bad for Messi.
Time has finally caught up with Barca.
They are seriously in debt and this time there will be no government bail outs.
Most of the players they have brought in the last five years have not been paid for.
Marc don’t bother mate. If you disagree with the agenda it’s because you like Emery or Raul or possibly Kia eventually. That you make valid points doesn’t matter
Marc
Yeah. Otherwise they have got no chance. He might be able to salvage the likes of Fati, Dejong, Ter Stegen, Semedo, and Alba may be Apart from Messi. The rest I wouldn’t have even at at Arsenal as it is. They are all past it, over paid players. They should have started a clear out last summer. Instead they went and Bought Griezmann stupidly. There is no hope for them with out Messi. It feels like he is playing for Argentina.
Barca will go into a serious decline I reckon, they really did catch lightning in a bottle with the Messi generation but there’s nothing coming through their academy anymore and they clearly haven’t planned for a day for life after Messi.
Could see Real dominate La Liga for a while.
Un I don’t like bullshit agenda’s. I got behind our new manager and was prepared to give him a chance, if you went back to comments last November during the International break you’d see I was calling for Emery to be sacked – he was given a season and fucked up the end of it and then went into a tailspin at the start of this one. I will never apologise for supporting the manager of Arsenal. My praise of Sanllehi is half piss take because it irritates Pedro but also because Pedro rams Mislintat down our throats when he… Read more »
I just heard that Barca spent €120 m last year for Griezzman.
Thiago has absolutely dicked on that Barcelona midfield
Feel bad for Messi. Hopefully Arteta can convince him of the project at Arsenal. He can leave for free in 2021 you know.
Nice write up pedro While you and i might disagree w the kroenke ownership theres no doubt something funnys been goin on behind the scenes and its nice to see something being done about it, hopefully its not just rat fucking. As for the willian contract i haven’t tried to find info but i’m hoping the add ons have to do w winning games/winning trophies/staying fit/scoring/assisting. Haha. Also, the rb leipzig comparison, same goes for dortmund, the problem Is that those two teams dominate. Epl teams now cant really compete w that. L’pool and mancity wont be able to pull… Read more »
Can anyone explain why Rakitic didn’t start for Barca ?
“Arteta will end up there and will re-revolutionise the nou camp”
Can’t wait for that to be portrayed as Sanllehi joining us just so he can then steal Arteta away to Barca.
Wasi
“Feel bad for Messi. Hopefully Arteta can convince him of the project at Arsenal. He can leave for free in 2021 you know.”
Think about the VAT, for the love of god think about the VAT
Thiago was sold by Barca for peanuts too, ironic he’s pasting them here.
They’ve literally made close to as many poor transfer decisions as we have in recent years, just on a higher financial scale.
Un you’re starting to come off a little obsessive, I’d forgive it if you gave it some more effort or had more wit about you but you’re being boring, can’t you talk about something else other than Marko?
The mental image I’m getting of you today is a chihuahua barking at a coat rack with hat on it.
‘Think about the VAT, for the love of god think about the VAT’
Chuckled me up this.
I’m ready to take all the hate when we pay 100 million in Vat and 100 mil in agent ( father in Messi’s case) fees.
Arteta just needs to convince him of the project.
Or maybe I’m dreaming just too big 😂
Barca on the road to become new Ac milan post Messi.
‘Messi too old for arsenal’
Need to confirm with the experts what his real age is first.
Barcelona showing how a complete lack of synergised strategy in recruitment spectacularly fails even when it’s laced with caviar.
Cannot have any of the chat about Dembele, Coutinho, Griezmann being overrated, they’re definitely not and are all superb players. But they don’t fit whatever the fuck the system is at Barcelona, they’re horrible purchases.
The fact Barcelona have a midfield of Vidal, Rakitic, and Busquets is amazing to me. I won’t even comment on that back line. Bellerin would look unreal amongst it.
The most idiotic decision Setien keeps making week in week out is playing De jong and Busquets together.
‘Cannot have any of the chat about Dembele, Coutinho, Griezmann being overrated, they’re definitely not and are all superb players. But they don’t fit whatever the fuck the system is at Barcelona, they’re horrible purchases.’
In a nutshell.
Although they were all overpriced.
Great goal, still has glimpses of genius Suarez.
Another goal please to make a game of this for last half hour.
Here comes the comeback.
Next goal will be huge.
Griezzman is certainly overrated. Countinho a good player but not Barcelona level good player. Dembele has got gteat potential, never suggeated he was overrated.
The only way other teams bas a chance against this Bayern team would be more stupid plays by Jérôme Boateng.
Brilliant by Davies
Good show by our Canadian!!!!
Charlie
They are all good players. But the amount that was spent on them was stupid. They could have had Joao Felix for the same money as Griezmann. Oyarzabal could have fitted them. They are just stupid at recruiting. Dembele and Coutinho were signed to soften the blow of losing Neymar. They just needed anyone to spend a 100 mil+ on. Griezmann was just stupid. He was never a Barcelona player.
Alphonso Davies with a worldie foot work.
Davies is an amazing prospect. Already arguably the best LB in Europe and a teenager still.
Can’t think of any other LB on the planet that would be capable of that assist other than maybe Marcelo.
What a player Davies is
Great goal.Pepe are you watching?
Wow… dude just dribbled through the entire defense
Alphonso!!!!!!
That Barca’s RB is a joke.
Wow, Davies…….Canada stand up, he’s done you proud there!
Davies is class.
Credit to Bayern’s rebuild, any side would miss Robben, Ribery, Lahm and Schweinsteiger not to mention Hummels but they’ve managed to build a side that can rival their great 2013 treble winning one.
Gnabry, Kimmich and Davies in particular have breathed new life in their XI. They look as dynamic as they ever have.
What’s the biggest scoreline in a CL Qtr final?
Marc
Didn’t Fergie’s United decimate Roma in the QF? Think they put 7 past them.
Canada with Davies and Johnathan David have a couple of wonderful youngsters.