Well, there we are Arsenal fans. I’ve campaigned on Raul Sanllehi for about a year now, and finally, the club has acted and moved him on with a beautiful ‘mutual consent’ parting of ways. A staged exit works best for everyone in this situation.
It wasn’t just me, Arseblog, Gunnerblog, and Amy Lawrence all played a role in raising deep concerns about the way the club was run. I didn’t run my stories blindly, lots of information was fed my way about where to look. There was absolute horror at Arsenal about the way things were being run. Someone who had worked for Arsenal messaged me this last year after reading this post.
‘Last post = spot on. Sven warned everyone….’
That wasn’t the only leak. Lots of good people left the club and I have no doubt their exit interviews helped contribute to this most excellent culmination of a miserable chapter in Arsenal’s history.
So what went wrong for Raul?
He was a chancer. It’s as simple as that. He wormed his way into Ivan Gs ear as a fixer of deals. He wasn’t a leader, he didn’t have a vision, he had no clue how to run a professional football club. When you don’t know how to do something, what do you do? You look to other people to help you make decisions. In this case, Raul didn’t look internally, he looked to the deeply seedy world of super-agents.
I extensively covered some of the deals that looked wasteful yesterday, and there were lots of them. Nicolas Pepe played at a club with a murky structure, part run by one of his ex-colleagues, and we dropped an outrageous fee that didn’t line up with reality. Unai Emery told the press it was his agent that put him on the list to replace Arsene Wenger, Emery joined up with that agent just before he landed the job. The Luiz deal was disgusting. Agents were reportedly injected into the Leno deal. The Iwobi deal also had agents injected per The Athletic. Our Technical Director came from a favoured agent. We then used Edu’s agent to bring in Cedric Soares in January and we just inked Willian.
You don’t need to be a Clifford Chance partner to see potential glaring conflicts of interest that have come from our deals.
Nothing we did looked data-driven and lots of our deals looked very much in support of people Raul liked versus being in support of a better Arsenal.
I’ve pondered if he’d have survived if he’d delivered us Champions League or there wasn’t a pandemic. I don’t think so. I think the disgust at his modus operandi at Arsenal was becoming problematic for KSE. At the end of the day, he was wasting frugal billionaires money. I said months ago, you don’t make rich people look like mugs. I wrote at the time the hiring of Tim Lewis was ominous. He is one of the few trusted confidants the Kroenke’s have in London. From what I’m told, he asked all departments to give him information on their budgets and deals… then he landed on Raul’s department.
I honestly thought it would take longer, but average operators are often sloppy and I can’t imagine the paper trail of his decisions made for smart reading. If bloggers can see what is going on, can you imagine how easy it must have been for an elite lawyer who is an Arsenal fan to get to the bottom of the issues? Tim Lewis was appointed to Arsenal July 1st, by August 15th, Raul is out the door. That is incredibly efficient work that tells you Raul was not the sharpest tool in the box.
So where do we go from here?
Well, you should be fucking excited. 10 months ago we were looking over the wreckage of what Raul had done to Arsenal. We had Unai Emery bumbling on TV, we had a broken squad of uncoachables, we had a shit scouting setup, and there was no hope for our future.
Fast-forward to now and we are starting to looking like an actual football club. Our broken football process is dead. With Raul goes outsourced scouting, shit recommendations, and horrible management of our precious money.
We have one of the brightest young coaches in the world. He could be generational. He LOVES Arsenal and he’ll treat the club like it was his own.
The fans are united around the direction of the club. There’s no divide because there’s no divisive characters at the club now.
We’ve won an FA Cup. We have Europe next season. There will be a direction.
We are still skint, nothing will change that, but we now know that the same mistakes won’t be made moving forward.
Every decision will come from a good place, all in the name of a better Arsenal.
Vinai is now running Arsenal football club. He’s barely 40. I am extremely jealous of his achievements here. I’m told that he’s straight as they come and moving him up is a good thing. Split leadership was always a fucking joke, Netlfix share price dropped on news they were trying it. VV needs to hold everyone accountable to a high standard. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have a football background, you don’t need one to run an organization properly. Look at the mess Raul left and he was brought in because he got the game.
I’ve no idea what happens to Huss Fahmy. The guy inking contracts for all these agents and hangers-on must be worried right about now, but we’ll see.
The football side is all with Edu. I don’t think the concern with the Brazilian is that he’s up to no good, I think it’s that he might not be very good at Technical Direction. Some say that he’s been in Raul’s shadow. Whatever is going on, he’ll now have to be on his sharpest game, and he’ll have to prove that he knows what the fuck is going on. It’s a chance for him to shine and make some magic this summer.
Kia J must be feeling sheepish this morning. No doubt his embarrassing carry-on in the media added to the troubles for Raul. To have a super-agent brazenly share news on impending structural change at the club and then to slag off Sven was the inmates running the asylum type stuff. It was also a direct power challenge to the owners. Moving forward, Arsenal has to control super-agent influence. Any fees have to be signed off by a neutral party or a committee of sorts. We have to bring rigor to an ugly but necessary part of the business.
There are a number of people that are worried that this summer of recruitment will be run by Mikel Arteta and Edu. I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Arsenal didn’t fire all their scouts and end up with nothing. There is plenty of talent still at the club that can help with that side of things. I’ve no doubt that Arteta will have more of a leadership role now, but he’s not literally scouting players on his own. I’d also not worry about the fixer issues. What did Raul’s ‘fixing’ bring to the table? More complication. He added layers where they weren’t needed, he paid over the odds time and time again, and he allowed the decision-making process to be swayed by outside influences. Why would we miss that? We need to do things by the book and we need to be perceived as straight-shooters.
What I am interested in is how the profile of player changes. Arsenal shouldn’t be signing players like Willian, we should be finding 22 years olds that can become the next Willian. I want to see us looking at the right names, the club should shift focus to where the game is going, not where it has failed. Barcelona vs Bayern was a choose your own adventure for the future of football. Do you invest heavily in young talent for the future and base your decisions on data harvested by experts mapped to a vision? Or do you ignore your scouting department and throw money at big names recommended by super-agents like Barcelona have? No one doubts the talent at Barca, but the lack of coherent planning has led to some of the most wasteful years in their history.
I’d rather have a squad that looks like that of Bayern and Leipzig, bustling with young talent, explosive power, athleticism, and outrageous technical skills. I would like to bring in clever players that can understand complex systems and execute them with precision. That is where the game is heading. Edu and Arteta need to formalise a plan, share it with the fans, then get cracking.
We’ve rid ourselves of a cancer today. This was a good day for Arsenal football club. We now look like we have a direction. All the ingredients are there. Hunger, elite talent, young players, brilliant brand name, a huge stadium, and a massive desire from all that have remained to return us not to the top 4… but to the very top of world football. Who wouldn’t support that?
This is an exciting time to be an Arsenal fan. We’ve finally moved forward. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that we can share the next 5 years together thinking about all the good that is happening. It’s been a long time since I felt this positive. I hope you feel the same way. This is going to be a fun, fun ride.
See you in the comments. x
Yeah. It’s Bayern’s to lose now.
Raheem
You are making the same mistake of bookies, bayern can get roasted by anyone. It is champs lge
Nice one, Lyon! City is a scumbag club.
Spend millions on a left back and starting your backup RB in such a big game at left back 🤦🏽♂️
CC
What was the dubious VAR call?
Bati
“That Garcia dude at the back for City will for right in back at Barca. Such a poor player“
I was thinking that too
He has the Barca DNA thing written all over him
City out. Pep back to save Barca?
Got to say, hope UEFA keep this one legged format, much better chances for others than the usual suspects always going far and winning the thing
Beat real Madrid to lose to lyon.
A couple of days ago, I was lambasted by the same village idiots for writing that Lyon were not the mugs that they described.
I wrote that athleticism could play a bigger part than usual.
Looks like ManCity will not win this year CL. So we may have two French clubs in semi finals and two German clubs.
I really thought city would go and win it
Boy was I wrong.
I didn’t know Lyon had such a mean defense though.
But Pep’s the greatest manager ever…🥱
That is a stunning win for Lyon.
Purists semi final
French clubs benefitting from cutting the season early.
City want their sauce back
They will pay Arsenal £100 million and extra to cover the VAT
Any takers?
Amazing win for Lyon I have to say
Dissenter: “For some reason I can’t find any reason to hate city.”
Try harder!
Pep got the game wrong in the first half.
L’OL is not LOL.
Ze Germans against the surrender monkeys in the semis.
Should be interesting.
Lyon counterattack was good and very quick ,we need to move the ball up field quicker
Bayern vs PSG in the final. Bayern to win it.
andy
There no historical or emotive reason for me to hate city. It’s not a sin to win the lottery of being bought by an oil rich state.
Can’t hate them because you do, that’s not how it works.
How about this for a start:
“The opponents always deserve my respect and credit, and Arsenal, they have it.. “I have all the respect for what Arsenal are on the pitch – not much off the pitch, but on the pitch a lot.” Pep,.
And I’ve no respect for a coach that spends billions to buy titles and fails so miserably when he doesn’t have the very best side in any competition.
PSG-Lyon final, and Lyon the winners.
Aouar looks a good player
Over co.plicates things a la Ceballos at times tho
What’s most laudable is his work rate assed to the ability on the ball
City really miss players like Kompany and Yaya tho. Sometimes u just need that power.
It may not matter with a Ronaldo or Messi led team in their prime but City don’t have that kinda talent.
Zeus
J don’t buy this extra reef theory. It’s a 90-min cup game not a two legged affair
You can make the case that French clubs have been so off-season that the have to fight for fitness.too.
Dissenter,
I know you want to really correspond to your moniker, but again I never said that the Jeff was Messi reincarnated.
I wrote that here is a player who was deemed not good enough for us when two years later he is involved in a Champion’s League quarter final.
I said at the time, that he should have been given a chance. At least we should have sold him for a lot more than we did.
As I said earlier Diss they got away with flouting FFP on a technicality and then claimed to be the innocent party. Arrogant Scumbags.
I loathe city
Tbf the players are quite likeable but rhe club is plastic and funded by terorrists
Sanmi
Don’t really care.
The point is there’s football outside of the Premier league and for the amount spent the prem should be doing better. They should be dominating this competition like Spain and Italy have in the past.
Jamie
MC are not a “scumbag club”
Know your history.
Don’t think not liking City has anything to do with they being an English club or English players or anything like that. Lol very weird comment
Three goals all comically bad defending. Almost late Wenger levels of tactical nous/weird collection of misfits and geniuses.
Nothing more quintessentially British than routing for the underdog. Get in Lyon.
To think we are more successful trophy wise this season than city is a funny thought.
As a kid in the 70’s I quite liked the City side of Asa Harford and Dennis Tueart but have to say that I can’t stand them now the same way I despise Chelsea for similar reasons.
Pep often seems to overthink these occasions a bit.
Would actually prefer the Champions league to be one-off games from the quarters. Way more interesting and would require big teams to be on their game on the day.
No chance to mess up the first leg then overpower the other team on the return just cuz of superior talent allowing for rotation
Radio
The premier league is overhyped and overrated. Basically just have good PR and a shit load of money to waste. Hence the likes of Solanke and Ibe and other average players are going for outrageously stupid sums of money
Why did Pep play this Garcia kid.
I hear he’s in the way out to Barca. He looked lost today and should have had a second yellow card earlier on.
That’s a head scratching decision by Pep along with the set-up in the first half.
He’s too brilliant fir his own hood, sometimes he over-complicates the beautiful game.
Graham, see above, as far as I’m concerned the City club that we grew up with has little or nothing to link it to the current mob. Sold their soul I’m afraid. And no I wouldn’t want AFC to do the same even if it did mean winning titles every year.
Yeah as another poster said these single leg games are far more interesting also i hate the dumbass away goal rule
Would love to see an old style single leg knockout competition like the old European Cup rather than the bore-fest that the CL has become recently. More likely to reward smaller clubs who work hard than the current model which is designed to keep the big boys at the top of the pile.
Batistuta
I see what you mean there’s more money than sense. It’s annoying as I want premier league teams to be killing these lot.
I think that the combination of playing every 3 days in single leg games is what create the drama. That change the mentality of players.
Some managers and players are inhibited by that added pressure but some thrive. For example we have seen in the round of games how substitutes are really making a difference.
Fuck off AbuDhbi FC
Dembele 2 goals in 8 mins wow
We should have signed him after he torn us a new one in that Emirates cup!
O well we have Laca!!
On another note I prefer Hearn’s fight camp to BT sport’s fight night.
Now for my Boy Ocampos to knock out the other Manchester club tomorrow
I know we all say the CL has become boring and the same clubs keep going to the final but what neutral wants to see a Lyon RB Leipzig final?
City Bayern semis would’ve been way more entertaining subplot wise anyways
And no, having played 14 games ( City)in less two moths against a team that played hardly any( Lyon) is not an advantage. Seriously guys.
I dare anyone to give me reasons why I shouldn’t openly label Pep a fraud
Pep fraudiola more like
Bayern will absolutely destroy Lyon.
I can see an all French final: PSG vs Lyon.
If Bayern plays a high line, Lyon will have the players to hurt them. Also defensively Lyon under Garcia is a lot more solid than casual observers just looking at the stats may think.
If MBappe is fit for the next game, I think that Neymar and MBappe will be too much for RB Leipzig defense.
Tom, I’m not just being awkward but I really wouldn’t mind seeing a Lyon / RB Leipzig final.
Same as I’d like to see different clubs win the PL now and again. Must be boring as fuck to see Bayern and Juve win their respective leagues year in, year out.
Although I tipped Sevilla to win the competition it’s hard to call tomorrow’s match. Sevilla are the better team overall but manure have the more lethal forwards.
Almost like the more he spends the farther he gets away from the CL trophy, such ridiculous amount of money spunked at city and yet he cant get close enough
Already at it again this summer, buy, buy and buy some more with liitle to show for it,lol
Andy
I think that would be a boring, tactical final.
The reason I like Bayern is precisely because they play the high line Valentin is so critical about. Unlike him though I don’t see Lyon punish them too much but Neymar and Mbappe, well that’s another story.
I guess I can see where you’re coming from but I’d take an attractive, in your face football in any final over a tactical defensive display.
Tipping Lyon to beat Bayern is a different matter altogether.
Sure Lyon have a chance but Man City simply do not have the true CL pedigree while Bayern have oodles of it.
Valentin
Anything can happen in a one off but Bayern have more to their game than City’s cutbacks from the wings.
Bayern have more speed than City and can hurt Lyon in the air.
Absolutely Bayern’s trophy to lose
They’re such a machine to watch, they’ll destroy Lyon and whatever team they face in the final
I envy the Bayern fans honestly, imagine watching such a quality team every week, such ridiculous level of talent all over the pitch.
Graham –
“MC are not a “scumbag club”
Know your history.”
Yes they are.
Bayern can drop deeper if required. They play a high line when they feel it’ll give them victory. Against Dortmund more recently they dropped deeper and closed the game out.
I know we’re all clever after the event but I think the problem with City was the same as Atletico: they set up too cautiously playing in a way they normally wouldn’t. Playing the tie over one leg might have frazzled both managers’ thinking.
Another thing worth considering in this Covid induced CL format is that all fixtures are ,in fact , the away type fixtures and City and Barca have been poor away from home, while Lyon and Bayern were excellent road clubs this season.
Lyon’s away record is actually better than their home record , while Bayern’s is equally as good.
Advantage Lyon and Bayern but when they play each other this will cancel out.
Bayern will be too difficult for Lyon imo.
PSG v Bayern looks likely.
Still a great performance from Lyon, can’t believe they did it tbh.
Aouar was superb tonight, really hope we’re after him.
Feels weird to have 2 french clubs in the semis, long may that continue.
I don’t thik excuses are necessary for Man City.
Until they at least reach a final of a CL they are down as CL failures.
And to continue to see them fail in CL makes these excuses for them seem a bit shallow.
Been happening too often.
They need to show big time in a CL before these excuses wash for them.
@ great article Pedro, if only you had made at least one mention of Ozil in the whole saga.
Tom, I was critical of the high line that Barça played because they don’t have the players in midfield who could hurt the opposition of the level of Bayern. Since the restart, they were not at it. They even had trouble in la Liga playing that system against lower half team. A high line make sense if you have a pacy defense and people in middle who can press in unison. That the old Barca, but that’s not them anymore. Xabi and Iniesta used to compensate their lack of athleticism by having extraordinary ball control and speed of passes. Going… Read more »
‘Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez says 10 clubs in Europe are interested in signing him after the 27-year-old Argentine’s impressive end to the season. (Marca, in Spanish)’
Whatever you think about this.
It’s always going to happen. This lad didn’t leave his homeland at the age if q7 years to be a reserve goalie forever. He’s proven himself and Arteta is going to hav to make a decision at some time.
Ishola
I don’t think these are excuses but rather facts.
You could argue City and Barca have a soft underbelly and that’s why their road record is piss poor( especially Barca’s) but playing an one off away from home was in Lyons favor.
Should City have overcome this, as well as having played 14 games in two months
against a totally fresh side is another question.
More of this look-at-me tactical stuff… If City reach the final Pep’s going to end up playing two rush goalkeepers or a revolutionary 1-1-8-0
I’m countering PSG’s midfield power by playing a cat on a unicycle at wing-half, and no it’s not weird and I’m not tense.
@barneyronay
**Whatever you think about this.
It’s always going to happen. This lad didn’t leave his homeland at the age of 17 years to be a reserve goalie forever
The major problem for Barca against Bayern was not high line but rather them being swamped deep in their own half and losing the ball too much right in front of their own penalty area.
Their build up play from deep = too slow, too static, too predictable and Bayern eat them because of this.
Tom
Man City keep failing in CL continuously.
You can keep making continuous excuses for them if you wish.
Valentin
It was your critique of Bayern’s high line that got my attention not Barca’s.
Bayern have plenty of speed with Alaba, Davies ,and Kimmich at the back to deal with ball over the top.
Some players can’t handle the nervous aspect of cup games. What we see with Guardiola is a manager who can’t handle the mental aspect.
I genuinely believe that Pep has a psychological bloc with the ECL. He wants it so much that he overthink the elimination games.
He changes system because he is afraid of being too predictable and counteracted by his opponent manager. However by changing system, he is unsettling his own players, who then do not perform as well as expected.
Ishola
Broken record much?
Never made “excuses” for them in previous seasons.
Pep has failed with Bayern and City to prove he could do it again in the CL.
And this was his worst performance yet.
Mitigating circumstances are not excuses, however you slice it.
The truth was clearly there to see. ‘Don Raul’ turned out to be a predator, innocently tasked to take care of little darling Arsenal FC. The predator did what predators do, and has now walked away from his victim. The damage he has caused is incalculable. This really should end up in a criminal prosecution. Tim Lewis, we salute you for your efforts in upholding Arsenal’s virtues.
I can’t stand seeing Man City being made favourites for the CL every season.
It’s such bullshit.
But I think the bookies may be trolling us now with this.
They put them in as favs for the giggles.
Tom, Maybe I phrased it badly, but the only comment that I intentionally made about Bayern defense was that on the day both defense were poor. That was ridiculous. Bayern high line made sense against Barca even if Boatang would not be my first choice to play that system. Maybe it is his age and the loss of initial burst of pace, but in that system he always looks like he has a mistake in him. Against Lyon, I don’t expect Bayern to play so gung-ho. Multiple Depay Vs Boatang foot race is more likely to end up with a… Read more »
Val,
Pep missing the wise advice of Mikel?
What metric(s) would you use to evaluate Edu’s calibre this summer?
Are there more organizational changes needed?
Can we bring in someone like Cagigao or Mislintat, now that the ‘cancer’ is gone?
Praveer, quite hard really because he doesn’t have a lot of money to work with.
Ideally:
Keeps Auba
Uses his exchanges well
Sells players for good money
Invests money in players that speak to a coherent plan
If we come out the end of the summer with a squad capable of pushing top 4, I’ll be pleased.
Oh, it’d also be nice if he did something about Ozil
WOAB, As much as I would love that to be true, I don’t think that he misses Mikel’s tactical influence, but what he may be missing is his calming influence. Whenever Pep comes up with a bonkers tactic, he needs a trusted assistant willing to tell him the truth. Calm down and go back to basic. Back to the drawing board. Drink a camomile instead of another espresso type of talk. I remember when at Bayern, against Barca he came up with that absolutely bonkers tactic that he was forced to ditch within 20 minutes. Surely somebody should have been… Read more »
Impressed by Aouar tonight: great technique.
ManCity goalie was very poor.
“The major problem for Barca against Bayern was not high line but rather them being swamped deep in their own half and losing the ball too much right in front of their own penalty area.“
Whiiiich can only be done by bringing your defenders( Bayern’s) high up the pitch to close up the gaps and suffocate the opposition of space and time on the ball ……..and that was my point to Valentin.
Pedro,
Last year Josh was talking about making our own players, while Raul was in favour of flogging every young players to fund a lavish spending on already established players.
So I am curious to see if the recruitment direction will change.
Also quid of Pablo Mari and Cedric. If we resell them next summer, it would be really proof that no thought were made into building a long term squad.
Regarding Özil, I think that Arteta will find a way to accommodate him for one season, but there won’t be any extension even on massively reduced terms.
Receding Hairline
You still think Aouar is too lightweight for the Prem?
Thought this was City’s year as well, Pep’s not been in a Champions league final for 10 years.
The Cedric transfer was one of the strangest things that happened under Raul.
The player was crocked and couldn’t provide short term coverage for Bellerin who was returning from injury AMN was available to provide coverage
He was going to be available in the summer for a free transfer
Why spend a dime on loaning him in January and then why lavish him with a 4 year contract at the age of 29 years?
We have a pattern of quadrupling down on our errors.
I would like to know which EPL club is also exercising this self-sustaining business model. It may be O.K. during the good time. With all these COVID-19 problems, the club should apply a different model. If KSE is not giving any meaningful support during this TW, the fans should start a campaign to force them out.
Sell
Guendouzi for £35m
AMN for £30
Kolo for £10
Total : £75m
Buy
Partey £45
John Stones £30m
Coutinho £10m Loan fee
Total : £85m
Total Transfer Spend: £10m
Nelson
‘ . If KSE is not giving any meaningful support during this TW, the fans should start a campaign to force them out.’
What should the fans do to force them out?
“What should the fans do to force them out?”
The same way they forced Wenger out.
– Hire those airplane with a message
– Attack them in social media
– Demonstrate before each home game
– Not attending games (after the lockout)
– Make the sponsors aware that KSE is not welcome
etc…
I start to see some effect of Josh on KSE. He may really wants his teams to do well. As a Canadian, I follows hockey as much as football. Their team, Colorado Avalanche is doing very well (2nd in the Western division). Also, their L.A. RAMS is not bad.
Tom
Easy on your praise for CG. From what I’ve read by posters responding to his comments, he’s what on everyone at Arsenal since Wenger was sacked, especially the Spanish and ‘Brazillian’ speaking amongst them. You are attributing foresight where there was simply angst.
Glad the deed is done. But why do the Kroenkes take so bloody long to act when the rest of the world can see a huge problem in the club?
Wow
Ive been so underwater with work lately, have not bee checking the blog as much… but shit… some big news..!
I hope its the right path we are on…. good for Vinai- seems like a very good man, very straight and what we need.
I love how these giants are falling… Barca, City
Going for the super underdog as per usual!
Bojangles
Hey, I think I’ve given CG more ridicule around here than most but he did call Raul a crook and a spiv probably earlier than anyone , and the latest developments surely suggest he might’ve been right about him so there.
Also, in a weird way, I kinda respect the guy. He’s taken a shit load of abuse for his wacky opinions and done so with calm and dignity rarely seen around here.
Tom
More power to you. I’ll continue to scroll past thanks.
“The board have also fully backed Arteta’s decision to not play Mesut Ozil, listened to him over David Luiz’s contract and are encouraging him to be more involved in transfer decision making.”
So maybe not a scheme hatched by Raul and Edu to freeze Özil out of the team.