Here he is, Jonathan Blaustein, filing his monthly thoughts on what has gone on at The Arsenal through October ( follow @jblauphoto). Enjoy!
It’s Wednesday afternoon.
November 4th.
And we still don’t know who’ll be the next President of the United States.
Sure, it looks like it will be Joe Biden, (thank god,) but no one knows anything for sure yet.
Biden had a decent playbook, IMO, and he stuck with it.
Basically, when your opponent is a total nutter who constantly says crazy nonsense, leave him alone to self-destruct.
I know people have been waiting for Trump to shit the bed for 4 years now, and unless he left fecal stains on the hospital sheets at Walter Reed, he has thus far managed to avoid any accountability for his actions these last 4 years. (Which felt like 40.)
But regardless of whether Biden wins or not, I respect his strategy, because it was based on reality. He did not kid himself into trying to out-comedy Trump, or out insult him. (Though calling him a clown must have felt really good.)
He understood that you can’t necessarily beat someone at their own game, so you have to be honest about what you’re good at, get the win, and then build things out from there.
Given this is an Arsenal column, please allow me to make the ungraceful transition you’ve been waiting for, and get my thoughts focused on English Football, rather than American politics.
I’m back this season with a monthly column, and while my take on AFC is very in-line with Pedro’s, (which is why he lets me do this,) writing once a month provides a very different perspective than every day.
It allows me to look at the bigger picture, rather than the day-to-day grind.
So why did I open with Biden’s strategy?
Because I think there is a huge crossover with what Mikel Arteta has done with Arsenal in just under a year.
Think back to how bad you felt, this time in 2019, with Unai Emery shitting the bed every week, (that visual never gets old,) and then Freddie L coming in to clean up the mess, but not having the goods to keep the big job.
Arsenal were in an epic crisis, with respect to the club’s history.
It was that bad.
We all know how well Arteta has patched up the holes in the wall, and the FA Cup and Community Shield trophies bought him a ton of street cred with (most of) the fans.
Yes, we love ourselves some Arteta here at LeGrove, but with good reason.
The dude is a baller.
This month, I want to focus on the main thing he did to re-focus the team’s strategy, which has rubbed some people the wrong way.
Lately, Pedro has been referring to Arsenal as “Atletico-lite” and I think that’s exactly the right call, but of course Arsenal fans want the beautiful football that Arsene promised.
I think much of the fan-base believes that playing like Simeone’s squad, rather than going for the City/Liverpool/Bayern/Real Madrid approach is beneath us.
It’s not the right kind of winning. (Or, sometimes, not losing.)
I admit, I fell in love with this club during the 2011-12 season, and there was so much free-flowing football, with RVP smashing them in from every angle, and Alex Song lifting perfect passes over the locked defences we always faced.
All attack, all the time.
Like the Mike D’Antoni Suns.
Over here in America, though, there is an old saying: Defence wins championships.
It’s taken as gospel, and the very best teams, like this year’s LeBron James Lakers, or many of Tom Brady’s best Patriot teams, were good enough to have a killer D and plenty of O.
But what about Arsenal?
Just because we owned some of the aughts, and used to slug it out with Man United in a Big 2, people think the Invincibles will always be coming back, if we try hard enough.
The landscape has changed, though, and it might be permanent.
Arsenal will never be able to spend with Man City, Chelsea or Man United, and it’s unlikely we’ll be as well-run, top to bottom, as Liverpool.
We all saw how year after year, Arsenal got shredded by the Top 4 clubs when we tried to play open football against them.
They have the money, they have the infrastructure, (except for United, who may be hiring Pochettino,) and they have a big lead in confidence as well, having all won titles far more recently than we have. (As did Leicester, remember.)
So why not create a team that can lock down the defence, and play on the counter against the “bigger” teams?
It’s the smart play, and I’m glad Arteta went that way.
Thomas Partey and Gabriel have been huge, obviously, but as I wrote in my last column, it’s been a sea change of getting buy-in from the whole team, which now defends front to back.
Alex Lacazette won player of the year in 2018-19 because he was a hard-working, harrying bastard, not because he scored 30 goals.
Aubameyang is a super-star with a work-rate, so it makes sense to build around that.
Mesut Ozil likes tracking back about as much as he likes carjackers, so off he went.
It all makes sense.
I know you want to see more creativity right now, but I don’t think there is one saviour-type who’s coming in this season. (Maybe next summer, but only maybe.)
Rather than creativity, I think we need precision.
So Arteta’s next move will be to work more and more on the training ground, with respect to final third passing.
In my opinion, it’s our Achilles heel. (Though things were better against United and Leicester, despite the poor finishing.)
In this first year of MA’s reign, we’ve seen nice, clinical finishing, but the passing accuracy on the final ball is so often off by 2-5 feet.
I’m not sure if that’s choking, as I think endless repetition of triangles and one-twos will allow improvement. Which will allow us to consistently score on the teams that do park the bus.
And if Arteta is fabulously successful, and the wins and money flow, then, (and only then,) might he try to emulate Pep’s Man City style more.
Because while some people have been surprised that we don’t play more like Man City, I haven’t.
They buy who they want, when they want, and we’re frankly not in the same financial bracket.
Finally, though, we have a coach who doesn’t set his team up for glorious failure.
I’ll take it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Also got to factor in our massively bloated wage structure.
50k PW on the likes of jenkinson and bentner.
We’ve been paying top 2 wages for a top 4/6 club for a long time now.
Cheers boys
Thanks for your humour Andy but you make already make me laugh with your pretend girlfriend every time you post. The fact of the matter is we can’t spend like City, United and Chelsea which was the crux of your response to the author. This is undeniable go back 10 years all you want, it’s in black and white. I see you left off United and City though why is that? We havent got as much resources/an oligarch to provide us transfer funds and pay exorbitant salaries and write off our debt like chelsea so we have to make sure… Read more »
I got as far as it “looks like it will be Joe Biden, (thank god,)”.
He should keep his political views to himself, nobody gives a toss.
Danny+S
That’s why we were financially unsustainable
Giving poor/ average players too much.
Let’s not forget the crocked/ unplayable ones.
Of course Wenger never highlighted this in his exceptionally boring book.
gj
This I agree with 100%, and i think we all do.
‘Which is why our spending has to be more intelligent than theirs, our scouting needs to be more intelligent than theirs, and our youth academy has to be more effective than theirs. That is the challenge.’
Those folk who still feel that we couldn’t compete because we lacked the financial clout have their heads buried in the sand.
Wenger was frugal to the extreme when it came to going into the transfer market and yet was prepared to hand out so much to those not worthy.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12124242/manchester-united-where-has-it-gone-wrong-for-ole-gunnar-solskjaers-side
They’re a level above, honest. 🤣🤣🤣
Super excellent manager too.
graham put your dummy back in.
Most people with a brain of course expected the club to compete with those teams financially superior to us but can also be realistic and say that it was a massive issue. To say otherwise is delusional when all the evidence is in front of you.
City, united and chelsea at one point or another came and took our best players on tripled wages in some instances but that’s not an issue?
You put 11 men on the pitch and playing for arsenal, the least you expect form them is to compete.
On Live Tracker it is
264 vs 214 right now
Super Rob, re-read my original post where I stated that we’ve been third biggest net spenders after the two Manchester clubs, isn’t that clear enough. My beef is regards the comparison with Chelsea which have been wrongly presented for several years now. Again, we’ve spent similar amounts, have had similar wage bills, similar turnovers (until very recently) but have managed our spending incredibly badly. Stop comparing to Chelsea – the two Manchester clubs fair enough as I’ve said already. Lol at the ‘girlfriend’ dig btw, perhaps you’d like to know the context? Some years back I commented that I had… Read more »
SuperRob
“We can all agree we havent maximised our resources in the market the last 5 years but to say we can spend as much as City, United and Chelsea is utter bollocks.”
Exactly, Couldn’t have said it better myself.
But
Georgia
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
still to be finalised. Therefore wait is on
We beat a shit United team who just lost to some Turkish outfit and all of a sudden we’re all that?
Or, alternatively, a rampant United who had just beaten RB Leipzig 5-0.
Pierre “Exactly, Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
You obviously can’t read then as I’ve already posted the net spends for Chelsea and Arsenal over the last five and ten years….
Andy
The fact is, we haven’t been able to compete in the transfer market with United , City or Chelsea.
They can (and have) blow us out of the water anytime they want.
It isn’t a coincidence that since Chelsea have cut their spending , this is their 4th season without winning the league.
Hence another 172 million spent in this window.
SuperRob
Not disputing that the likes of Chelski, MC and MU corrupted the market but there’s also no denying that Wenger and his crony weren’t too good at balancing the books.
Andy can’t you condense your nonsense? Im fully aware of our situation but in no way shape or form am I defending our transfer dealings so take a breath and read what was written.
If you think we’re on par with Chelsea and can make the same mistakes as chelsea then all power you. We can’t.
The fact you think we’re on a level playing field with them financially is joke.
And people arent comparing us with Liverpool, Spuds or Leicester. Thats the whole point we’re more in that ball park financially not with City, United and Chelsea.
In 2010 we had 25 players from our first team squad on £50k + a week.
Work that out for yourselves and then look at the names of some of those players.
Unbelievable!
Super Rob – sorry if that’s too difficult for you to understand. You were factually incorrect. The figures prove that. It’s really not complicated. We spent more than Chelsea over the last five years and a very similar amount over the last ten. Remind me again about Morata and Bakayoko? You were wrong on that too. I’m pretty sure that Chelsea didn’t waste tens of millions on a new contract for a washed up former footballer either. As for Pierre’s comment that since Chelsea cut their spending they haven’t won a league title I’d point out that they last won… Read more »
Graham we were too good at balancing the books. They absolutely fucked the market more like. Why do you think we had to pay our players more? Chelsea were paying back up left backs 100k a week (Brigde) and City then came in offering triple the salary when it was not possible for us to match. I know we had the squad harmony socialist bullshit going on but the top players still got market rate. You’d be one of the first supporters to go mental if we didnt extend Bendtners contract and he left and was a success somewhere else… Read more »
Super Rob, it’s probably worth trying to make your argument using actual facts such as net spend rather than offering simple opinions with no actual corroboration behind them. Don’t go all Trump on us!
Our best midfielder by far now is Partey so the one to go alongside him should be the one that will get the best out of Partey. A midfielder that works closely in tandem with Partey.
Willock isn’t a good idea because he is more of an attacking midfielder and we will get the situation again of Partey being isolated like he was against Leicester.
A low grade match so be it but not in a match of any real importance.
Andy
“As for Pierre’s comment that since Chelsea cut their spending they haven’t won a league title I’d point out that they last won it in 2016/17, during that five year period where we out spent them.”
You are quite keen to remind people they can’t read or do not understand what’s being written , and yet you misquote me .
Here is my original comment.
“It isn’t a coincidence that since Chelsea have cut their spending , this is their 4th season without winning the league.”
Andy are you sure you’re not the bitch in the picture? Morata and Bakayoko? Could we afford to spend £100m on talent and not play them / send them on loan? No we’d need an instant impact. It’s quite simple Andy, you talk about matching Chelsea in the last 5-10 years in net spend (we only started paying heavy agent fees to compete with chelsea, united and city 2 year ago) you dismiss the fact they changed the face of english football with how they spend money on players, salaries and agents fees. Chelsea are a luxury mansion that is… Read more »
SuperRob
Had any experience of balancing the books?
You don’t reward those who are not contributing to the operation.
If you think giving the likes of Denilson, Santos, Gervinho, Chamakh Gibbs etc etc £50k+ was justified, then I’m afraid you’re also lacking in basic footballing knowledge.
Pierre, you also stated that we haven’t been able to compete with Chelsea in the the market and called it ‘fact’. I’ve already shown you that we did compete with Chelsea over the last ten years and that actually is a fact as demonstrated by the numbers not an opinion which is what your comment is.
graham
‘If you think giving the likes of Denilson, Santos, Gervinho, Chamakh Gibbs etc etc £50k+ was justified, then I’m afraid you’re also lacking in basic footballing knowledge.’
SuperRobNovember 5, 2020 13:18:21
I know we had the squad harmony socialist bullshit going on but the top players still got market rate.
Does that sound like I thought it was justified? Read properly old timer.
Super Rob “Andy are you sure you’re not the bitch in the picture?”
Nice move, super smart comment there Rob.
Then you add insult to injury with an analogy that makes no sense. Again, compare the net spends and explain where Chelsea have blown us out of the water….
Stick to facts, not opinion, fantasy or insults.
Andy you’re clueless, clinging on to net spend as some sort of justification.
Chelsea bought and sold better in the market with a bigger margin for error in the last 5-10 years than arsenal. Its that simple. This doesn’t mean Arsenal can compete with Chelsea on a financial level.
Agent fees, transfer fees, and salary.
Chelsea along with City and United blow everyone out of the water.
Name one player we’ve been interested in that has chosen us over Chelsea.
“we were too good at balancing the books”.
I beg to differ.
So being ‘clueless’ is quoting actual spending figures? While being smart like you is providing zero data to back up an argument. Okay…. Get me the figures on agent fees by all means Rob. Transfer fees as we’ve seen are not an issue and up until we exiting the CL we had a similar wage bill. Why would players chose Chelsea over Arsenal? Probably because we aren’t competing for the big titles are we? BTW record transfer fees for both clubs is £72 million. But we can’t compete. Maybe if we bought and sold a bit better we could spend… Read more »
One of the key reasons players chose Chelski over Arsenal was based on the culture that existed at our club.
No commitment to winning and no commitment to rectifying our weaknesses.
You’re entrenched in fantasy Andy. You’ve took a period of time where it shows us in a worse light for your ‘argument’ against your own club. Why just go back 10 years? Fuck that why not start form the beginning to give the full picture? You think we’re on a financially level playing field to Chelsea and I don’t. Lets leave it there but I’ll just leave this here for you. # Nett Spend 92/03 To Date Purchased Gross Sold Nett Per Season 1 Manchester City £1712.3 M £575.3 M £1137.0 M £40.6 M 2 Chelsea £1717.8 M £944.9 M… Read more »
I don’t want to see any first team player tonight. Put xhaka in, along with the kids. Time to bed in the kids. Season is long, injuries will comes, need to start building a solid squad depth.
Sorry last one was a bit messy
# Nett Spend 92/03 To Date
1 Manchester City Purchased Gross £1712.3 M
Sold £575.3 M
Nett £1137.0 M
Per Season £40.6 M
2 Chelsea Purchased Gross £1717.8 M
Sold £944.9 M
Nett £772.9 M
Per Season £27.6 M
3 Manchester United Purchased Gross £1370.5 M
Sold £592.3 M
Nett £778.2 M
Per Season £27.8 M
4 Liverpool Purchased Gross £1238.2 M
Sold £819.5 M
Nett £418.7 M
Per Season £15.0 M
5 Arsenal Purchased Gross £974.7 M
Sold £597.5 M
Nett £377.2 M
Per Season £13.5 M
I cant agree to the notion that we cannot compete financially with other top 6 clubs. The move to the Emirates for the sole reason to becoming a financial powerhouse. Maybe not with Manchester United but we can definitely compete with Chelsea and Liverpool and even City (now as the FFP have become strict) The fact is Ivan and Kroenkes didn’t have an idea how to run a football club. We have one of the biggest fanbases in the world. But we haven’t made proper moves to benefit from this massive advantage we have. City who dont half or even… Read more »
I think these arguments cannot work without taking inflation into account. Mbappe and Dembele deals have completely changed the landscape again. Chelsea was spending 30mn+ on paulo ferreira more than a decade back. 75mn in 2019 is not the same as 75mn in 2014. There is a lot more money in football. Chelsea, City and United have spent a lot of money since 2006 and Chelsea and City’s case, they are able all their assets as well. Also one cannot disregard the amount of quality youth players that take academies in different countries are gobbling up. At one point in… Read more »
America will be much weaker & pc under Biden.
Upstate Gooner
one of my friends said during 2016 US elections, we have a moron on one side and an idiot on another.
TBH, i think Biden might just be a slight upgrade on Trump.. because if Kamala is running the show, she has a tendency to beat Trump on craziness index.
Tierney “I cant agree to the notion that we cannot compete financially with other top 6 clubs. The move to the Emirates for the sole reason to becoming a financial powerhouse.” I find the difference between us and chelsea/city/united is that when they want a player they basically pay the asking price and offer the best financial package to the player , whereas we have to juggle our finanaces to get a deal over the line. Let’s take this season as a case in point. If city/united/Chelsea wanted to sign Partey and Aouar, they would have signed both players early… Read more »
Rob, WTF have figures from 1992 got to do with MA Arteta’s Arsenal in 2020/21?? Answer: Absolutely nothing. So the last ten seasons aren’t long enough to explain why we have the poor quality squad we have now? How many Chelsea or Arsenal players are still on the books of their respective clubs a decade later? I didn’t take a period of time that showed us in a bad light, I selected a period of time that is relevant to where we are now, the last ten seasons. Why not go back to the 1930’s when AFC broke the transfer… Read more »
Pierre, didn’t we just sign Partey for the full asking price and pay him huge wages?
Maybe you missed that.
Regarding our selection of midfield, I think we should play people based on form. If they standout they should play. Mo Elneny has played wonderfully since that community shield game. I think it should be his to lose right now. I think against man united was the best I have seen him play. He was breaking lines and actually dribbling through midfield at times. Elneny Partey should stay for now.
Pierre, I think you’ll also find that United didn’t sign Sancho because they did not ‘simply pay the full asking price.
Maybe this summer wasn’t the best example you could have chosen…
Not sure how Pierre is getting shit for saying that Chelsea and United can do business with more ease than Arsenal.
Caz.
Get the thrust of your argument but Chelsea paid around £13 million for Ferreira no where near the £30 million you suggest. Which was around the same sum Arsenal paid, in the same season, for Reyes
Would love it if either of Willock or Smith-Rowe have a breakthrough season, they both offer a goal threat and some penetration from midfield. It’s easier to bring young players into a settled and cohesive structure, than it is bringing them into a chaotic mess. Would love to see them both play well tonight, and give Arteta something to think about Not all improvement has to be external improvement, and players develop at different rates, Willock has just turned 21, far too many have written him off far too early. He was our top scoring midfielder last season, he’s got… Read more »
Pedro
Digging up people’s past comments were my thing. If you take that from me, what’s my use on this blog?
Pedro, United and City absolutely.
Chelsea, not so much.
Bottom line is we spent badly, this summer Chelsea spent £61 million (rising to £71 million with add-ons) on Havertz, last summer your mate Raul (joking) spent £72 million on Pepe.
AFC used to glory in buying players and selling them for a profit, more recently we’ve done the opposite.
No nation should suffer being led by anyone above 65 years, mental faculties slow down just as physically the body deteriorates.
“but we can definitely compete with Chelsea and Liverpool and even City (now as the FFP have become strict)“
Major LOL at the idea we can compete financially with Chelsea and City. Liverpool is the only one we’re in a league with, and they’ve schooled us the last half decade.
FFP has become strict you say? Where the fuck have you been?
Terraloon, in 2000 we paid £13 million for Wiltord.
In 1995 we paid a PL record fee of £7.5 million for DB10 plus £4,5 million for David Platt.
The poverty card is usually grossly overplayed.
FInance isnt your thing is it Andy? At all.
Are you now saying we’ve had money since 95 but have just decided not to spend as much as City, Chelsea and United?
Fuck me.
Good article.. Thanks for reminder re lacazette.. Knew he hadn’t been that bad a signing as some try n make out..
Wanted Arteta before emery, done better than I thought.. Think we’ll definitely challenge for top 4.. Seeing our fixtures at start of season I would have settled for where we are..
Rob, still waiting for a logical argument from you…
Its not about this season alone. Its about the gross mismanagement that has been happening for the past 10 or 15 years. We sold Henry ( one of the best players in the world at that time) for 25-30 mil. To put this deal into perspective. Juve sold 28 yo Zidane(one of the best players in the world at the time) to Real Madrid for around 75 mil. This deal took place 6-7 years before the Henry deal. We sold Cesc (Top 5 Midfielders in the world at the time) for around 30mil. RVP( Best Striker in the league at… Read more »
Sid
“No nation should suffer being led by anyone above 65 years, mental faculties slow down just as physically the body deteriorates.”
65 is the new 45 , I am the living proof ..🏌️♂️#level par.
Rob, no thanks.
I’ll repeat it even though it’s getting boring. We’ve spent a similar amount (net spend) to Chelsea over the last decade and more then them in the last five years.
We’ve spent less gross spend because we bought badly and could not raise funds from player sales to fund higher spending.
You don’t have to be a financial wizard to get it.
CC
Yes FFP has become strict. Remember the Chelsea ban.
Even City were close to being banned. Athleti also in recent seasons.
Why can’t we compete with City financially?
We just need to get our academy working properly, get better at sales and strike good commercial deals.
Whoever is the one behind the scenes at Benfica scouting all that talent. Get him, pay him double if he wants. They produce unreal amount of talent.
After that focus on striking beneficial commercial deals and partnerships.
Set up feeder clubs around the world a la City.
@CT – The funny thing was that Rob used Morata as an example of how Chelsea could waste transfer funds.
And he says I don’t understand finance…lol.
Pierre, how are you getting on with the new handicap system?
’65 is the new 45 , I am the living proof ..🏌️♂️#level par.’
Loool, he scores an own goal!
Andy
It’s not so different..
Only really comes into effect when you play on a different course to the one where you are a member..
If say I’m an 8 handicap and i play at a more difficult course , then my handicap will go up maybe a couple of shots and vice versa.
It’s a fairer handicap system if you are playing in a comp on a different course..
CT.
Neither Atletico or Chelsea were banned for breaking FFP rules
Glad to hear it Pierre, what I read made it sound more complicated than it really is then.
Good news:
“The Premier League is likely to scrap the controversial pay-per-view method for matches after November’s international window.
Clubs will instead look to devise a new solution that will cover the Christmas period.
A definitive decision was not taken at a shareholders meeting on Thursday but discussions are said to be ongoing.
However, the £14.95 fee – which led to significant protests among fan groups – is expected to be dropped.”
This election has planted emigration seeds in me for the first time. The bias is unreal. All the outlets gave that girl sniffing pedo states even when at 90% in. And here they aren’t giving Trump NC even at 99%. Absolutely mind boggling. Reminds me of how Mourinho was treated at Inter in 2010. And guess what happened there? Trump too will have the last laugh
Andy ‘We’ve spent a similar amount (net spend) to Chelsea over the last decade and more then them in the last five years.’ We’ve not spent as much (gross spend) as chelsea over the last decade and more than them in the last 5 years, thats exactly the point. They have spent far more than us and can horde players and make mistakes without any repercussions on any future windows. We can’t its that simple. Our net spend is similar but they’ve spent far more than us and sold better. This isnt even up for debate so dont even know… Read more »
Buzzy
Saudi or North Korea which would you prefer?
Is Buzzy – Bamford.
Just as Bandy.
Andy
‘Glad to hear it Pierre, what I read made it sound more complicated than it really is then.’
I’m shocked.
Azed trust me I won’t mind if I could. At least those are places where they respect courageous leaders and more importantly men are not castrated by these fucking feminist slimeball karens pretending to be politicians.
Anyway no more of this bs. I’ll definitely be sticking to the footy while I’m on this blog.
James
No. Bamford is far more sane.
The price you receive for your players, isn’t just linked to the value of the player , it’s linked to player age, wages and remaining length of the contract. If you sign 2 x £40million players who are both 22 Had 3years remaining on their contracts Earning £4million a year each for 5years That’s a £120mill commitment over 5 years That’s £24mill a year If you sign 2 x £40million players Who are both 27 Who both had 1yr remaining on their contracts Earning £10mill a year each for 5 years That’s a £180mill commitment over 5 years £36million a… Read more »
From @gunnerblog
“Marcel Lucassen, #AFC academy head of coach & player development, is the latest backroom staff member to leave Arsenal.
Lucassen leaves for personal reasons & is replaced by Luke Hobbs as Head of Academy Coaching.”
Habesha elneny could always dribble and break lines even when he had joined us. What he wasn’t good at war that he wasn’t strong in the tackle. Again he was defensively ok, but when it come to 50-50s invariably call to the opposition after hitting elneny s shin /leg cause he would not put his foot strongly. Think of it like the “ankle locking” that got so some shooting.. Elneny still doesn’t tighten his feet when going into challenges as much as regular EPL players, but it’s much better than the time he joined. This is why the cross that… Read more »
Think of it as “ankle locking” while shooting *
America is now getting on my nerves – can’t they just have a fight to the death to decide the result?
Trump throwing all his toys out of the pram.
What a dickhead.
He can still win.
Rob, they’ve bought more than us because they’ve had additional funds to invest from sales whereas we’ve virtually flushed away a quarter of a billion pounds through bad management (as CT pointed out). If we’d invested that money in young up and coming players we’d have had similar amounts to spend.
If you fuck up when you buy and sell then that has nothing to do with a level playing field, it’s just rank bad business.
So arteta would rather have a mistake riddrlled C O A T.
Crappiest of all time defender in .the squad rather than saliba.
First strike to me.
RSPC
Saliba wasn’t put in the EL squad a few weeks ago – todays squad is irrelevant on that subject.
Honestly think art has made a blunder by ignoring saliba..
Unless he’s been misbehaving in training …
His close buddy Mattie may be behind
Marc
That’s poor managing from my view.
RSPC
Wasn’t even that good – I think they didn’t put him in because they were going to loan him and then cocked that up so he’s stuck in limbo.
I believe the EL squad can be amended in Jan but would he get a game once we’re into the knockout phase?
RSPC
I think Arteta is very risk adverse and is also a control freak – he’d rather have a player who he trusts to try and do what he wants than risk a youngster.
Both Saka and AMN are selected in the British NT as defender.
“America is now getting on my nerves – can’t they just have a fight to the death to decide the result?”
Marc
Trump’s bone spurs just returned so he wouldn’t be able to fight.
azed
Don’t care chuck them both in an arena with a couple of machete’s winner takes all.
I thought we would involve Saliba a bit. Arteta may have seen something. But he needs to have a plan to integrate him in the team in the future. If not he should actually send him out on loan to get minutes and recoup the money we paid for him. I thought a Beastly Gabriel-Saliba partnership would have helped but Arteta thinks otherwise. Anyway, what I dont want is for him to rot on the reserves and diminish his value. We may have payed 7 mil for guendouzi but we spent 27 mil on this kid. We cant afford to… Read more »
Pedro
No disputing that Chelski, MC and MU can do business with more ease than Arsenal, what I will dispute though is that Arsenal have been restricted because of this.
It’s been our dysfunctional internal financial system that has held us back.
As highlighted earlier, 25 of our first team squad were earning £50k+ a week in 2010.
Not
‘Both Saka and AMN are selected in the British NT as defender.’
Nelson they’ve been selected for the England team, they’re English.
‘As an emerging wingback, he can become one of the best three in the world, because there is no one to stop him at speed and he can develop defensively with good coaching.’ This is what the departing Lucassen( a highly rated individual) had to say about Saka. He also said Saka would only be a top 30 player as a winger because he cant operate in small spaces like Sane. But he could be top 3 if he were to be developed as a wing back. Cant argue that much tbh. Saka has elite speed and dribbling. He’s got… Read more »
Habesha Arteta has always said Saliba needs a transitional year. In his first season he broke into the team in the second half of the season and in his second season he had a few injury problems. He has not played a full season yet. What I would say is I don’t think we need to worry about Saliba. He will come good. Gabriel has been a stalwart in defense for us this season. I posted a datasheet a few months back when we were linked with Gabriel. It showed Saliba having even better defensive stats tham Gabriel in many… Read more »