Let it out
Arsenal rocked the football universe yesterday when they acted decisively on their Head of Football.
The framing around the story has been absolutely predictable. If you work in big business, you’ll recognize the familiar feel to the ‘my work is done’ narrative put forward by Raul here and Vinai in this ‘interview.’
… and you know what, who cares how it’s framed, the reality is Arsenal have moved on an exec that operated in a way that wasn’t conducive to the sort of efficiency you need to have when running a club like Arsenal in a moment like the one we’re going through.
Here’s how I imagine it went down.
Arsenal hired in Tim Lewis to look at costs in and out of the club.
He identified areas of waste within the player dealings process that reflected badly on the exec in question.
There are two options in this moment. The club either goes to war with the exec in a drawn-out gardening leave type investigation. Or they agree to part ways on amicable terms if certain stipulations are met as part of the exit package.
For Raul, the best thing for him was going to be to escape the club with his head held high. A ‘job well done’ and ‘I love the club and respect everyone’ works for his next role. For Arsenal, moving on from the situation cleanly, likely without having to offer a massive pay-out or going through a big media circus, is absolutely perfect. Big business, in any industry, will go out of their way to avoid bad PR. I suspect the club is gagging to have an ‘AUBA SIGNS DA TING’ or a ‘Gabriel joins the revolution’ headline to shift the news cycle.
Covid-19 as cover is perfect for both parties. If it makes you happy as a fan to think that’s why we no longer have our top football exec in position, then stick with that story. If you are of a more curious nature, just read some of the previous posts I’ve penned that might lead you towards the reasoning as to why Arsenal put the highest-paid non-first team football person at the club on the cut list.
Everyone wins in this situation. The club can plot a more modern approach forward. The fans can be safe in the knowledge that the deals being done are in the best interests of the football. The execs in America know there’s a sharper focus on making sure their dollars are spent well.
The cold hard reality is that we’re still skint. There’s not a lot of money swilling around the coffers. That’ll mean this summer has to be very creative.
Someone asked yesterday what Edu would have to do for the fans to see this summer as a success.
Sell well
We’re starting from a pretty low cash position this summer. That means we’ll likely have to sell to buy anyone of substance. Selling in a market where Barcelona are delaying firing their coach because of the £3m contract he’s on tells you how big the challenge of cash will be this summer. There’s not a lot swilling around. There are players that will attract the attention of cash-rich clubs, we need to be strategic there and make sure we max out those opps.
Barter hard
You’ll see a lot of player exchanges and you might see more players given free transfers to move. Arsenal needs to be smart here. If we’re going to swap Lacazette, we need to make sure what we get in return justifies the move. If we’re considering swapping Matteo, it has to be for a talent like Aouar. I don’t want to see Ashley Cole for Gallas like deals going down.
Reshape the profile
Part of the challenge we’ve had over the past few windows is a lack of coherrance on our player profile. We need to get back to Arsene Wenger basics when he was good. High levels of technical ability, rugged fitness, and outrageous athleticism. The midfield is where we need the most attention, and clearly, central defence.
Communicate a plan
Edu has very much been behind the scenes at Arsenal, it’s unclear exactly what his role is at the club, and he’s been shy about talking to the press. I like that we have a visionary coach and I’m a fan of his bromance with Edu… however, we can’t go back to an Arsene Wenger situation where it’s all on the one with the special sauce. I’d love to know what the vision is for the club. Where are we going? What does ‘data and analytics’ mean? Who are we promoting to bring this to life? Who needs to be hired? How long is the plan?
I read somewhere that player recruitment isn’t Edu’s strength, not sure how true that is, but if it is, how are we solving that? A manager doesn’t have time to run that side of the club as well. We need him focused on making the team great. How are we structuring that side of things?
Arsenal fans are rabid. We need information. If we know where we’re going, we’re less likely to fill the gaps ourselves. The club, particularly Vinai, has a history of being open with the fans. It’d be great to get back to that after a fairly opaque period in our history.
Moving forward
We’re constantly in transition at Arsenal, but right now, I feel like we’ve found our ground zero. I worried for a long time that we’d have to waste a few more transfer windows before the powers that be realised we were on a path to nowhere. Now they’ve acted, I think we can expect to see aggressive progress.
I have my reservations about Edu, but I think it’d be unfair to expect him to take us to promised-land in one window. This is arguably the hardest transfer window in history. What I’m looking for is a progression of the thinking and some decisive action that excites. If we can get to that and the football next season is a little more expansive, I’ll be very happy. Arsenal should be seriously threatening the top 4 next season, we have the young players, we have the coach, and should we make a few really smart moves this summer, hopefully, the squad.
This really is the time to ‘be excited’ about the future. We have all the component parts needed to kick on. Let’s see what the new direction of the club can bring.
If you want to listen to an elite podcast on the happenings this weekend, tune in below.
Trophy 🏆
🏆
4th
4
In the bag 🏆
Boom
Rich
Upstate
I’m the new DM.
I screen the top(back)4
🙂
top ten is the new 4th.
If we sign Gabriel?
That gives us Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding, Chambers, Luiz, Mari, Saliba, Gabriel, and Mavropanos with a new deal, who’s gone out on loan.
Is Arteta planning on playing 11 at the back?
“The fact remains they started investigating his deals 2-3 days ago and now he’s gone. What does that tell you about his dismissal?“
Not a fact. Big man Tim has been here over a month nerding his way through balance sheets fag packets. Do me a favour that he started an audit Wednesday night and had Raul pegging it before Friday drinks. Get the fuck out you spanner 😂 would take 3x as long to audit a corner shop.
12th man
Brilliant post and very good work. So relieved to see that sob gone. Maybe the 10 long downward trend from 8-2 at ot, stagnation, incompetence has reached it low point and now there’s a new trend?
Exactly Rich.
At CB our options for next season are Luiz, Saliba, Holding, Mari, Mustafi, Chambers if we’re to assume that Sokratis and Mavropanos will be sold.
Whereas in CM we have Xhaka, Toreirra, Willock, Guendouzi as of right now. And Arteta has no time for Guen or LT.
Makes no sense that we’re pursuing yet another CB as a priority over a midfielder.
Mustafi, Chambers, and Mari injured. Mavropanos out on loan.
We need more CB’s.
Ishola
If Pepe is a 30m player, than what is Iwobi whom we sold for about that much to Everton ,and who just had 1 goal and no assists for them last season in the PL?
get coutinho on loan and Gabriel
should be good
Give up on partey… this is getting way too drawn out. Now with Raul out, whatever shady means we had to get him hopefully went out the door.
Still need a DM and we are set for now
Karsa
We still have Saliba, Holding and Luiz, even Sokratis as of now for the new season. And Mustafi and Mari will be back after a few weeks.
I’d love to bring in a Gabriel at CB but we’re far more in dire need of midfielders right now. We literally have one of the worst CM in the entire PL.
Tom, I think you could plot out the cost of young British players and Iwobi’s price tag wouldn’t look out of place considering how old he was, which club he repped, and some of his underlying stats.
Pedro,
I read the pieces and listened to the podcast about your reservations about Edu. I think most are reasonable. But we do have to be fair. Was he the person that bought us Martinelli?
I am not sure who bought us Cedric or Luiz. But I am pretty sure who bought us Martinelli. How much could we get for him to day?
I just want some balance in the ledger. Let’s hope that there is more of that in Edu’s future.
Fleecing Everton for 35 million for Iwobi was one of the greatest bits of transfer business that you’ll ever see, I remember hearing it on here on the day and just creasing up laughing in disbelief.
Tom
EPL clubs overpaying for players and especially Everton is not new is it.
Doesn’t mean Arsenal overspend and overspend heavily on Pepe as well.
It wasn’t a clever deal the Pepe transfer let’s just put it that way.
any word on Dani rejoining us?
Yeah Gabriel in would be lovely but only if it’s not at the expense of two CMs coming in. We can’t be doing with our current midfield again even if the CB position is starting to square up
NJ, for sure… I hear that he’s not up to much… but we’ll see.
He has a summer clear of Raul to make his mark.
“player recruitment isn’t Edu’s strength”
What in god’s name is he there for, then?
Weagle
Partey is being touted as near done, Aouar is being bartered over, Coutinho is an open secret (in reserve for Aouar).
Our midfield will look different next year lad, confident of that.
Ceballos interests me though, not sure where we go if he’s not actually coming back. Wonder if that would see a new target emerge, if so who?
CC, think Madrid need cash badly, so they’ll be looking for a fee, not a loan
I’d love to bring in a Gabriel at CB but we’re far more in dire need of midfielders right now. We literally have one of the worst CM in the entire PL.
Indeed. I agree the midfield is the priority. The existing midfield options are totally choking our game.
I would like to see another dominant CB though.
2 years ago on this blog, before Pepe had that 23 goal season, he was rated by many on this blog as a £40 million player.
Since then,he has had 23goal and 11 assists in Ligue 1.
Un
I think Luiz the day after Kos bolted was a sensible deal vs no deal, I said about 12 times I’d have preferred an Upamecano type. Cedric was a smart deal, low cost, gives us scope to raise funds through Bellerin/AMN and invest in more influential areas (CM).
You need to do better if you’re going for a little smear, because I’ll jog back into the comments and throw my exact quotes at you. I know what I’ve said and what views I hold, don’t be slimy.
Polite reminder that Everton have spent: -35 million on Iwobi. -45 million on Sigurdsson -20 million on Schneiderlin -25 million on Bolasie -28 million on Tosun -25 million on Michael Keane -20 million on Walcott -25 million on Pickford -25 million on Klaasen -27 million on Yerry Mina -20 million on Digne -35 million on Richarlison -22 million on Andre Gomes -30 million on Moise Kean -25 million on Gbamin Total outlay in a four year period of a cool 407 million, Everton ladies and gentleman. For a league finish of 7th, 8th, 8th and 12th. They’ve gotten worse after… Read more »
Pedro, I agree.
I only mentioned Iwobi because his playing circumstances were not at all different from Pepe’s.
A new club, new multiple coaches and a new system(s) , and that’s why he massively underperformed last season in comparison to his previous season at Arsenal ,where his return was more than respectable with 3goals and 7 assists in the prem and 6goals 9 assists total.
Pedro
I tend to agree, but do we have coin to do it? And how much?
Aouar and Partey are the hefty targets, I think Arsenal maybe let Ceballos and Madrid stew until late in the day to get a loan in with an obligation out of them.
PedRo
“””” I have my reservations about Edu, “”””
Your right to.
He is a useless muppet.
Expect the mutual agreement and ‘want to spend time with the family ‘ baloney before too long.
He should not be anywhere near Arsenal after the UK Home Office chucked him out of the country in the first place.
A man who cant arrange his own personal affairs ,has no right in getting involved in others.
Plus he is the totally discredited Rauls lackey.
Good post
Charlie
Partey and Coutinho would be incredible as would Partey and Aouar. The latter two would cost 100 odd million though surely?
I don’t really want us to go back in for Ceballos, was an underwhelming loan if we’re honest. Good player sure but he’s not getting us competing with the top sides or helping bridge the gap whereas Partey, Aouar, Coutinho etc all do.
Ishola
No it wasn’t, I don’t believe anyone can say Arsenal got a great deal on Pepe.
That said , your 30m valuation is way low.
No, too many CB’s
Get rid Mustafi, Kolasinic, Sokratis and Bellerin.
Don’t know why we bought Soares when we had AMN
Just how bad was Martinelli’s knee injury?
Would be gutting if he’s physically compromised in any way, I haven’t been this excited over an Arsenal youngster since Wilshere a decade ago.
CC, I don’t really get goss on transfers… all I hear over and over is that we’re skint.
So unless there’s some serious money coming in, I have my doubts that we’re going to see a midfield of our dreams.
That said: Lacazette > Partey. Matteo G > Aouar. Gabriel seems fairly in our price range.
Tom, per the athletic, the concern on the Iwobi deal was the injection of agents that weren’t there for the Theo deal the year before.
If I’m not mistaken Raul was a director at FCB when the Club won 4 CL and numerous LL trophies, trying the very hardest to make him look like some clown is just disgraceful. His time at Arsenal is not as bad as most making it out to be. If he was the head of football at Arsenal yrs ago Kylian Mbappé probably would be playing for Arsenal. This dude Vinai who was previously a sales man, who negotiated our commercial deal that have us millions miles behind our rivals is now our CEO. Stan with another own goal. If… Read more »
TallestTiz
You gotta be consistent to be the new DM. Tr4phies for 5+ years buddy 😉
Also, the original DM is still here..
Weagle I think you’ll see us prioritise those before Ceballos for that very reason, Aouar seems to me to be dependent on swapsies or you’ll see a loan for Coutinho emerge. Thing about Ceballos is Arteta engineered a position out of him in the end, but how eager he’ll be to spend good money bringing him in I’m less convinced about. What is he? If you consider 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 to be next seasons likely preferred tactic then what’s he operating as? Partey is an 8, Aouar/Coutinho are comfortable modern 10’s, is Ceballos another 8? The deepest lying CM? Idk,… Read more »
Going by Arteta’s previous comments, I see us being in for technical midfielders who can dribble, create and chip in with goals. Aouar, Grealish types.
Pedro, inside knowledge is fine, but sometimes one can get too close to the trees to see the forest.
Mikel (the ‘visionary’ coach, as you put it) is the man. Without him, the Club stands no chance. The ace corporate lawyer has acted swiftly (as one would expect), hence the dismissal of Raul. The way is clear for Mikel to run the show. Edu, Vinai et al are bit part actors.
So who is the main supporting actor? The ace corporate lawyer, of course.
A reminder of when Wenger was good: the main supporting actor was DD
Another way to speculate about Sanllehi’s departure is that having made big promises to secure ownership investment last summer, they simply lost confidence in him after this season. Remember our non-existent transfer budget last summer, then the club went over to LA and Sanllehi presumably had meetings with the Kroenkes where he sold them the vision of having a blockbuster summer where ‘speculating to accumulate’ would be the Big Bang moment bringing high return on investment by taking Arsenal back into the CL. The cautious Kroenkes were convinced by Raul’s patter and made various concessions to facilitate the spending: they… Read more »
Charlie
Ceballos is an 8 yeah but the problem is that he’s not a mobile one, or one that is a goal/final ball threat. It’s a position that generally requires a bit of dynamism or at least exceptional the ability to break through the opposition midfield.
Definitely is not a 10 and he’s certainly not a 6 either as you would ship goals galore with him marshaling in front of our back four.
He’s quite a niche player that works very well in certain situations and games we play but that gets simply overrun and outplayed against the better sides.
Un Your gaslighting is a bit boring, telling me to calm down, relax, that you’ve hit a nerve. Literally none of the above but ok… You’re claiming I championed Luiz when I didn’t. I said Luiz for Kos was good business even though I wanted an Upamecano, clear difference and it’s the way you’re presenting my views that’s slimy. Same with Cedric, I’ve said numerous times why it makes financial sense and is nothing more than a lateral move in terms of football talent, but you dismiss that and whip up something out of nothing each time it’s mentioned. If… Read more »
Time to get real. Arsenal at the moment is not a for sure top six club. Liv, ManC, ManU, Che, Leis….top 5 with us fighting Tot and Wolves for sixth. I am seeing a bit of Chelsea in the new structure and that is a bit troubling since even with the brilliant academy that Chelsea had over the last few years, they are still looking to buy their way out of trouble this transfer window. Arsenal cannot afford that, plus we managed to lose quite a few promising academy players. In the absence of a top football mind at the… Read more »
GunnerDNA, Raul was a fixer. He did deals. That’s it. He’s not a football person.
England, Edu is the supporting role moving forward. Let’s see how it plays out
Weagle Precisely my concern, he arrived to be an 8/10 and was toilet until Arteta parked him next to Xhaka in a pivot. I said throughout the season if we’re spending money to add players then they should be more dynamic than Ceballos. I don’t think there’s a comparison between Partey and Ceballos as 8’s, so obvious who we’ll be more concerned with imo. As 10’s I don’t think it’s fair to even go there, he doesn’t compare to either lad in that convo. It’s a sticky one, solved with a loan and a buy because another summer could see… Read more »
Pedro
Be curious what Wolves do this summer, when does that glass ceiling get admitted? Nu-no thanks Portugal FC
CC, they have some very fancy players they can shift on. Jorge Mendes certainly has better DoF credentials than Raul had.
Unsure if they’ll be as potent next season, every other club will get better, and some of their big names might move.
In a perfect scenario would rather have Partey replace Xhakalson instead of Ceb
Take a bow Bernardo haha
“And to all Liverpool fans that have nothing else to do than to come to a Man City player account, I’m also sorry for you but for the wrong reasons…😂 pathetic… go celebrate your titles, or try to find a partner, drink a beer with a friend, read a book…🤦🏻♂️ so many options!😅“ – Bernardo Silva
Partey is more DM than #8
Nobody has mentioned this option, I am beginning to suspect that one of our two goalkeepers will have to be sacrificed to raise money for outfield players.
Martinez is adding to this possibility with his public statements and either he or Leno could raise a hefty sum.
Nobody has mentioned this option, but I am beginning to suspect that one of our two goalkeepers will have to be sacrificed to raise money for outfield players.
Martinez is adding to this possibility with his public statements and either he or Leno could raise a hefty sum.
Pedro,
“GunnerDNA, Raul was a fixer. He did deals. That’s it. He’s not a football person”
He has more reps in the game than Ivan who was your guy and Vanai
Partey _Aouar_Willian midfield ? Xhaka,ceballos,smithrowe and willock midfield doesn’t look bad .
See what we do on the wing .
Not player Guendo and letting everyone know he is not wanted will work against arsenal.
In other news aubas toying with the fans
GunnerDNA, say what you will about Ivan, but he’s running one of the most prestigious clubs in the world and he was an actual CEO.
Raul has been shunted out of dual leadership and I have my doubts he’ll find a job as elite as the one he just had again. Not sure why you’re champing him to be honest.
Pedro, I don’t see Edu having any leverage with Stan Kroenke. Certainly not the kind of leverage DD had with Danny & Co.
He doesn’t need leverage with Stan, he needs a productive relationship with Arteta.
In other news Senderos is sporting director of a swiss club after which he will come to arsenal to replace Edu
You heard it here 1st!
DNA – Raul only bought one decent player while at Barca, plus a load of dross. And the Neymar deal landed them in the courts having to pay huge fines to avoid jail time (plus the president quit). Raul had nothing to do with Messi, Xavi et al at all, he was generally considered to be a bit of disaster (which make you wonder why the f*ck we ever employed him in the first place).
And as Pedro said, he isn’t a football man, he came from marketing via Nike.
Andy, also worth noting that a fixer just does the deal… he’s not there identifying the talent.
‘Go get neymar. Fee. Wages. Add ons’
He’s given a script, then he makes it work.
A question raised on Arseblog this morning that I would love to know the answer to, we were quoted £18m for Leno and then Raul and his agent buddies got on involved and we ended up paying £22m. What happened there??
All I can say is that if Raul plays tennis I bet his best shot is a back hand(er).
Pedro, “GunnerDNA, say what you will about Ivan, but he’s running one of the most prestigious clubs in the world and he was an actual CEO” Ivan Gazidis is trash! He got the job at Arsenal and AC Milan because of where he’s from, not because of been competent. He was actually the individual who hired Raul. You’re going too hard to be right. The Club is always the star, not who you’re trying to attribute sauce to. Under Raul leadership Arsenal had one of the best transfer window in history. He’s not here anymore, so there’s no one for… Read more »
Pedro, unfortunately ‘making it work’ with Neymar involved a whole load of illegality. To use a well known phrase, ‘we don’t want his sort here’ (thank God he’s gone).
I hope Edu also sees this summer as an opportunity to further stamp his authority and elevate his credentials. There’s so much to be done and not many would care about whatever “mitigating” circumstances that may served up as excuses.
GunnerDNA, I’m not trying here… I was right. Raul is out. That’s the story.
If he was delivering history-making decisions, I can assure you, he’d still be here.
Senderos could very easily surpass his playing career off the field, very smart guy, always rated him from that point of view.
DNA, that’s typical executive behaviour, come in, make short term decisions and do a runner before the chickens come home to roost. See it all the time in business, these guys know how to give a good interview and also when to jump ship.
Andy, it certainly wasn’t an attractive outcome for a lot of people.
CC, massive over-thinker that ruined his football… but probably a great trait for a DOF
Pedro, the owner of a two billion pound business doesn’t bother with the guy on the shop floor.
But, as you say, let’s see how it plays out going forward
Pedro
Definitely, horribly analytical and forever sweating the details, but pretty elite traits when you whack a suit on. Will have to wait and see what his ambitions and football vision looks like.
There’s a reason why the majority of good footballers are a tad dense, the elites play on auto-pilot and rarely have the gears turning upstairs to any great degree. Some exceptions to that of course.
Un
So exactly what I said then? Err cheers.
I think he took a degree while he was playing and knew 5 languages? Really hope he does well.
England, I think the idea KSE has is they pay elite execs to operate on their own so they don’t get in the way. A great model if you hire elite, we’ve not really done too much of that.
Philippe Senderos. Legend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYTcf55B-oY
Pedro I posted this morning that Arsenal will not bring in more than 2-3 new players specifically in CB and MF positions. In the case of MF we need to replace Ceballos, Guendouzi and Ozil who are unlikely to play for us next season. Realistically any new players brought in need to be starting X1 quality, because that is what we are short of. Just adding yet more squad players like Mari and Soares is not going to improve our performance level. A Sports Journalist suggested to me that there will be two categories of departures. The first are those… Read more »
Un You’re embarrassing yourself. I literally stated earlier I was in favour of Luiz as a replacement for Kos vs nothing, that I’d have preferred an Upamecano, and here you are pasting quotes that almost state the exact same word for word as if you’ve caught me in something. Big L. Championing Luiz’s signing would’ve meant I was asking for it to happen long before it did. That wasn’t the case, I reacted to an opportunistic deal with a pretty bland opinion frankly. Willian is another I’ve said will depend on the context of the window, but that he’s a… Read more »
Are we saying Raul signed Leno not Sven Misilinat?
Jamie 👍
That videos so good
I don’t see how we can make any signings without serious departures, which will be difficult with the wages we’re paying, and clubs across Europe on their knees. We’ve got a first team squad of 32, Mavropanos out on loan, making 31. Mkhitaryan is still on our books. Our first signing should be Ceballos, he’s been through the customary season adaption, he’s 24, a Spanish international, a player on the up, available for a reasonable fee, and ready to hit the ground running, as he’s already adapted. We could clear Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Sokratis, Holding, Chambers, Ozil, and loan out Nelson… Read more »
Backpass, yes he did (Sven identified players, Raul handled negotiations). I’m assuming that your question was genuine rather than tweaking Pedro’s tail.
Un
I’m almost impressed by how hard you’ve gone after Raul and his” shady” dealings on little more than circumstantial evidence and hearsay.
Such a righteous streak , who knew?
Too bad it’s been seemingly only reserved for football execs and not politicians.
Or was it that he wasn’t racist enough for you ……..overspending on all them black and brown-ish foreigners ?lol.
Un
😉
“You said he’s better than what we had and it was a good deal.“
Already outlined the criteria as to why it was a “good deal”, and David Luiz is/was better than what we had so do spare me……especially if another chorus of ‘Holding is a diamond, just watch’ is coming.
Manure is carrying the flag for EPL in Europe. The game against Sevilla will tell us more about how EPL compared to other European leagues.
David de Gea is in goal. bad news.
Fabrizio Ramano : Pierre Aubameyang is going to sign his new contract with Arsenal soon. Gabriel Magalhães will decide about his next club on next days. Thomas: Atlético want €50m as release clause or they’ll not sell him. ⚪️🔴 #AFC #transfers
Manure only misses Shaw. The lineup looks strong.
Ever Banega MOTM.
” David de Gea is in goal. bad news.” hopefully good news.. Come on Seville
Andy
“Backpass, yes he did (Sven identified players, Raul handled negotiations). I’m assuming that your question was genuine rather than tweaking Pedro’s tail.”
No shit, I thought he was a scout, or is that not what has been said on this blog time and time again?
Ramsay Bolton be will lady Hornwood give you some tonight?