Fans went into meltdown yesterday over a player they thought Arsenal were signing because he went to Aston Villa. The internet exploded. The club is apparently finished. Villa are now a bigger club than us… because fans take rumours as fact.
Quite the spectacle.
Buendia is no doubt a top talent. He’s powerful, mobile, and energetic. He’s also a chance creation machine. But that doesn’t mean we were in for him. If we were, we’d have landed him. No doubt. There is not a world where a player picks Villa over Arsenal unless there’s something wrong with them.
I suspect that the reason we’re not moving on him is Odegaard.
The rumour that really should have us worried is Reuben Neves replacing Granit Xhaka. That feels a lot more Arsenal if I’m honest. He’s with Jorge Mendes, he’s just had a very average season, and his signing probably doesn’t move us forward. He’s not really that mobile, he’s been outclassed this season by our current midfielders, and he’s quite one-paced. He’ll not be cheap.
It’s a peak-Edu move in my opinion. No imagination.
SPURS WERE BINNNED OFF BY CONTE. Amazing stuff. Daniel Levy tried to lure him to convince Harry Kane the project wasn’t dead… then he received the middle finger because Conte doesn’t think winning values align. Magic.
Right, short one today because I’m traveling. See you tomorrow!
Tee,
I responded to this comment:
“MattJune 7, 2021 12:46:34
So, to all those who are saying that Buendia showed a lack of ambition by signing for Villa, you are presumably confident that Arsenal will finish above Villa next season?”
They are the fans who still think we are the shit. CC and Stroller come to mind right away.
Tee,
Stroller was repeating time and again that Arsenal are not in crisis just a week ago. How would you describe crisis for a club as Arsenal? Dropping a division? Is that what’s going to take for some people to realize that we are not in a good place and going from bad to worse by the year? Probably not even that. They are happy to live with their memories I guess.
And the obvious intent of Arsenal was to drag this Buendia transfer over the summer to get him as cheap as possible near the deadline.
It’s textbook Arsenal, what we always do.
This time it blew up in our faces.
Make no mistakes, Arsenal wanted Buendia.
Arrogance cost us.
Raptora I know what you mean and it doesn’t ring true. Villa finished 11th in the table, which was lauded as a good campaign for them so their players are seen favourably relative to their ability – even so, who is moving up the ladder? Grealish is the exception because he’s a genuine world class player and has been for a few seasons, but where’s the next in line? It’s no different at Arsenal, only the standards. Meanwhile there’s infinitely more scope for a player performing well at Arsenal than there is at Villa, and that will long continue because… Read more »
Raptora,
Grealish is not yet a super star as far as I’m concerned.
Take liverpool for example, both FBs bomb forward like wingers, their midfielders are mobile enough to pressure and retrieve the ball instead of dropping into CB positions.
“They are the fans who still think we are the shit. CC and Stroller come to mind right away.“
Attention to detail not for you at all. Unsurprising
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:00:43
Phd
Arsenal aren’t currently Goldman Sachs so your analogy falls flat.
—–
Hmm,I also cited Credit Suisse in my example,if you care to read back.
“Take liverpool for example, both FBs bomb forward like wingers, their midfielders are mobile enough to pressure and retrieve the ball instead of dropping into CB positions.”
The word “mobile” doesn’t relate with our midfield composition except maybe partey.
Xhaka.is slow, elneny covers more ground without winning the ball back
Buendia this ,Buendia that…Yaaawn!
Saka is not a gem who was uncovered this season. He was a youth product, not like arteta sought him out and signed him. And it was emery who brought him into the team.
ESR was also known to be a very good player before he started getting minutes thus why a lot of fans have been excited about him for years.
AMN would be able to pressure and retrieve the ball in midfield like he did playing LB,
thats why my conclusion is that Xhakalson and Diet Pep is a bad combination
Tee
””””Cg,Where is that team you where crazy about last season?”””
Watford?
Watford cost me fortunes, Should have never got rid of that Pearson.
But back in the prem this time.
I admire all managers that know what they are doing, quietly get on with their jobs , believe the game is a simple one and don’t mention words like’ industry’ process ‘ or ‘projects’
hence why I am not a fan of The Imbeciles we currently have.
But nothing lasts forever and they will soon be gone.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:00:43 Yes, if you’re choosing less demanding, less ambitious projects then it calls heavily into question your suitability for high performance demands at the top level. ——— Trying telling that to the start up companies,especially in Silicon Valley,who have gone on to do exceedingly well. Try telling that to guys who’ve worked for top tier investment companies and then have gone on to join investment boutiques and are smashing it left,right and center.I guess they are losers,or rather their characters to hack it in high pressurised environments leaves a question mark by your definition. By the… Read more »
“Attention to detail not for you at all. Unsurprising” I mean trust the process is exactly that, no – being happy with the direction we’re heading to. I don’t like where this is going, so I’m unhappy about it. Yes, I can call you, ES and Pedro “they” and I can call “we” posters like Marc, Marko, China, Guns of SF, Sid, Valentin, Andy, Hairline, Tom and list is too long to include them all, who think very similar to me regarding Arteta, Edu and the whole farce that our team has been in the last year. There are several… Read more »
We ought not to downplay or, even worse, act snobby to a Club like Aston Villa. Those of us who have been around long enough remember them as a major force. Weren’t they first English club to win European Cup, as it was then? Same goes for, say, Everton: they too are sleeping giants. Snotty-nosed disdain may awaken them. Not so long ago Everton had easily the best side in England, and maybe in Europe. But for a Liverpool misdemeanour they might have won the EC. Nor should we forget Man City. Until even more recently, they were a sleeping… Read more »
Not so long ago…?
Ive got a few grey hairs in my beard and all of the events you’re describing are from before my mum even met my dad… oh and I’m the youngest of their 3 kids lol…
That was a very very long time ago.
If arsenal had any pull, Buendia would at least wait for arsenal to make an improved bid. No such thing. Went straight to Villa when the whole world and their dog knew arsenal wanted Buendia. It’s not like it was the last hour of the transfer window, no the window hasn’t even officially opened and he’s already made his decision. Which other AM can we get at that price range? 30-35m If we end up over paying for a worse player, it’ll be a joke. We are already a joke in the footballing world and most of our players are… Read more »
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:00:43
Arsenal want to get back into the very elite, bringing players in who are more enamoured with middling ambition is a red flag. Convincing anyone to join the club is a red flag.
————————-
Has that not been the club’s ambition since the move to the Emirates?
That was about circa 15 years ago,to challenge with the Barca’s,RMadrid’s,Bayerns of this world…Hence the essence for the move to the Emirates-non?
Here we are in 8th place in 2021.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:00:43
Yes, if you’re choosing less demanding, less ambitious projects then it calls heavily into question your suitability for high performance demands at the top level.
————-
*Try telling that to guys who’ve worked for middling or top tier investment companies and then have gone on to join investment boutiques and are smashing it left,right and center.I guess they are losers,or rather their characters to hack it in high pressurised environments leaves a question mark by your definition.
“But that doesn’t mean we were in for him. If we were, we’d have landed him. No doubt. ” Under which regime would Arsenal have landed him, Pedro? Based solely on your statement one can conclude without any doubt that the club were never in for Buendia. I can take that at face value based on one lone factor, no one has even a remote clue as to what the clubs transfer plans are. The fact that we are at June 7th and the Euro’s start on the 11th, once more they will leave things very late again and leaving… Read more »
Phd Bully for Silicon Valley startups, but not everything can be so easily applied to other industries. There’s little crossover between a professional athlete that has a very generous 10 years at the top of the sport, vs a tech nerd that has a 40 year career awaiting him. Deviations and ‘greater good’ personal gains are far more prevalent in the professional world than they are in elite sports. Why? Because elite athletes want the elite opportunities at the elite clubs because they’re hungry for success and the profile that goes with that success. And I’m not asking you to… Read more »
“Saka is not a gem who was uncovered this season. He was a youth product, not like arteta sought him out and signed him. And it was emery who brought him into the team.” The point I made is we have unearthed more gems than Villa which put mute to the notion one poster made about us not unearthing one for a long time like vilka whereas he has only Grealish to point to for villa. It isn’t about who called who into the first team else we would be back to arteta vs Emery this and that again. We… Read more »
“Try telling that to guys who’ve worked for middling or top tier investment companies and then have gone on to join investment boutiques and are smashing it left,right and center.I guess they are losers,or rather their characters to hack it in high pressurised environments leaves a question mark by your definition.“ Or…..hear me out…..your comparisons to business professions isn’t apples to apples? In medicine, if you want to be the best, you don’t go to an inferior school because of the discount on parking, or because you’re into art and there’s a local spot that’s unmatched which will totally enhance… Read more »
Grealish shouldered the villa burden so is Saka who who did ours and he is younger.
Not trying to compare and contrast here but saying Saka was to us what Grealish was to Villa last season.
Youth players coming into the first team is a product of 5-10 years of work. We ‘unearthed’ saka when wenger was still considered somewhat relevant, that’s how long ago it probably was. Your position in football can change dramatically in 2-3 years. Look at Leeds, villa, west ham etc. Whether we have a couple more great gems from the academy than they do isn’t much to do with our recent work and more to do with work done by youth recruiters and managers from many years ago. That’s why I think the comparison is irrelevant right now. We’re comparing what… Read more »
From the arguments
With naive fans “ of the process”-whatsoever the fuck it is- the management and owners of AFC know there will be no consequences from fans too impotent to act or react.
Now understand the process that got us to where we are, just with accidental fig leaf of the past to cover up the gonads.
Why the pretension? Why lie to yourself and select to close your eyes to reality? It doesn’t make you a better fan, it makes you a moron. Arsenal are not a star club, haven’t been for close to 2 decades now. Nothing surprising that a player can choose to go to an Aston Villa over Arsenal, for some extra money. You care about the now, not the past or the history. Why stop 20 years back, go further behind and Villa were big too. The present Arsenal, what is so gold about this club and how does it stand out… Read more »
Tee, Let’s change superstar to top class. Imo Grealish is top class. Saka is on his way but not top class yet. When was the last time we got a good player and at Arsenal that guy became a top class player? Cesc and RvP are the last as far as I can remember. Literally not a single name in the last 15 or so years. They have Grealish and that process is current, it’s happened this or last year. Why would Arsenal be a top destination if we stopped developping players? It’s one of the reasons Villa could be… Read more »
“Whether we have a couple more great gems from the academy than they do isn’t much to do with our recent work and more to do with work done by youth recruiters and managers from many years ago.” Then you should have understood the ground on which such statement was made before meddling into it. The poster cited Grealish ‘s development by villa as one of the reason buendia signed which can’t be said of us. I countered it, that if it’s based on club giving play time to youngsters to enhance their development, presently counting the gems in our… Read more »
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:38:15 We’ll agree to disagree.As we will be going back and forth on this matter. And,I don’t wish to spend an inordinate amount of time,arguing over issues that’s not going to change the overall machinations ongoing at Arsenal. The malaise runs deep,of which I think you are aware of. The data points to a downtrend at Arsenal in terms of perfomance in the league over a 5-10 year period,so does the visual realisation of what we see on the pitch.Not progress defined or extrapolated over a 22 game sample since christmas 2020,no matter how you splice… Read more »
The red flag for me is that according to the Independent, our offers were almost identical but Buendia personally favoured Villa. Choosing Villa over us is what worries me more than losing out on the player because as I previously said I’d rather we keep the £40m and give Willock and others more games. I’m hoping it’s not Odegaard as he looks like an Ozil type player to me and Neves doesn’t inspire me either. It seems Arteta is after clones of himself: dull, slow, unexciting sideways crab football type players who follow instructions without question. I saw an excellent… Read more »
“Tee Let’s change superstar to top class.Imo Grealish is top class. Saka is on his way but not top class yet.When was the last time we got a good player and at Arsenal that guy became a top class player? Cesc and RvP are the last as far as I can remember.” Yes, Grealish is top class and Saka is on the up also. If we are talking of the last time we made a star out of a player then you will have to engage your search engines rigorously to uncover when last villa did. Mind you, I’m not… Read more »
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:45:25 In medicine, if you want to be the best, you don’t go to an inferior school because of the discount on parking, or because you’re into art and there’s a local spot that’s unmatched which will totally enhance your social profile. ——- Poor analogy.. Why?The medical profession sets standards.. They are not going to allow any medical doctor from a school not accredited to unleash such a practitioner into the public sphere to splice and dice a patient like how you cut apples.. It puts the medical profession into disrepute and they lose credibility as… Read more »
Matt i am confident we finish above villa i just took £100 we would do it this year
They have a paper thin squad and i have bet him again for next season too
“From the arguments
With naive fans “ of the process”-whatsoever the fuck it is- the management and owners of AFC know there will be no consequences from fans too impotent to act or react.”
Another fabricated trash.
If it’s so, then why did they apologies to the fans for the ESL brohaha (don’t mind my spellings)?
Do you think fans won’t protest against everything when they are finally allowed into the Emirates?
Kroenke and the rest know this coupled with the rumbling of takeover from that guy(forgot is name) backed by Henry and the likes
I took £100 off my mate who is a massive villa fan
Phd Of course Arsenal are where we are because of a myriad of poor performances throughout the club, and for a considerable period of time. That said, even if we appoint a saviour tomorrow there will be hysteria about the work they do toward establishing ourselves amongst the worlds best yet again. That’s my gripe, and where I choose to look for the shoots of green. Because frankly if not then why bother at all? Piece of piss to continually rip apart any and all efforts to change the current status quo. Pessimism is easy, being optimistic in a shit… Read more »
Of our over 25m pounds transfers what is our stat: Pepe – tanked (so far but there is hope). 72m Lacazette – tanked. 48m Partey – underpar season. 45m Ozil – tanked. 42m Xhaka – tanked. 40m Mustafi – tanked. 37m Mkhitaryan – tanked. 30m Saliba – tanked (so far). 27m Torreira – tanked. 26m Aubameyang – played as before. 53m Alexis – played as before. 38m From 11 expensive transfers, we have 2 players that kept playing as good as before, and 9 players who have either regressed or not impressed at all as is expected from the figure… Read more »
Phd
A medical degree is different per the university, don’t kid yourself because of accreditation and standard practices. Same of Law too but the school you attend bears significance when talking of professional gain.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 14:16:08
A medical degree is different per the university, don’t kid yourself because of accreditation and standard practices. Same of Law too but the school you attend bears significance when talking of professional gain.
————
Here we go..Yes,each university with regards to Medicine in the UK at least,does have it’s own entry requirements as you rightly mentioned.
But,let me ask you a question CC-which is the most sought after university to gain admission to Medical School(in the UK)?And of which bears significance or weight in the professional domain?
Looks like Julian Brandt might be the option
Wake me up in September
Graeme Souness /Benny De Vito
””””””’you’re a professional footballer who we’ve paid a lot of money for and you’re asking me how to play? Get out there and do your job!”””””””””””””””””
too bloody right.
Preaching optimism after the season we just have… that’s bold
Links to Brandt? Before the usual types do their usual thing worth noting prior to last season where Dortmund struggled on the whole Brandt had 29 goals 37 assists the previous 3 seasons. He is normally quite productive.
bennydevito June 7, 2021 14:00:47
Good post.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 14:12:39 That said, even if we appoint a saviour tomorrow there will be hysteria about the work they do toward establishing ourselves amongst the worlds best yet again. That’s my gripe, and where I choose to look for the shoots of green. Because frankly if not then why bother at all? Piece of piss to continually rip apart any and all efforts to change the current status quo. Pessimism is easy, being optimistic in a shit storm is far more the challenge. ———- Ok,I get it now. In a nutshell,you are a glass half full type,rather… Read more »
Julian Brandt, 25 yo, who was a reserve to Gio Reyna, 18 yo.
One of the ways to get this club going could be to attract players who aren’t doing so well in their current good team, so they arrive here cheaper and with a point to prove. Worked well with DB10, TH14 and PV4.
German players don’t do too well in England though. I always think about that when I see Arsenal being linked to one.
PhD, Your analogy with traders and boutique start-up as on point. It was the same a few years ago between being a prop trader at a big investment bank and joining a small hedge fund. If the hedge fund become successful traders become multi millionnaire, if the hedge fund tank then traders has to go back and hope to get a job as prop trader again. Nothing to do with lack of ambition, just different evaluation of how well (or bad) the hedge fund was likely to do. Look at the US Sports franchise, star players don’t choose a club… Read more »
Brandt tailed off badly the past two seasons. Before that though he was a creative and productive player. May be he needs a new environment to get back to form. But he has never been a fighter and a strong player. So I have doubts he will do better in the premier league. Just like Havertz he will struggle in the premier league. I would steer clear because he is a risk right now.
raptoraJune 7, 2021 14:45:59
German players don’t do too well in England though. I always think about that when I see Arsenal being linked to one.
————
Really??
I don’t know..I can think of a few who have done ok in the EPL.
Jurgen Klinsman,Markus Babbel,Dietmar Hamann,Leroy Sane,Michael Ballack,Pers Mertsacker,Jens Lehmann,Karls-Heinz Riedle,Robert Huth..Maybe Rudiger?Maybe Ozil when he first joined?
“A medical degree is different per the university, don’t kid yourself because of accreditation and standard practices. Same of Law too but the school you attend bears significance when talking of professional gain.” Charlie are you sure about this? The medical degree is very much regulated…and then there’s an internship that has to be done afterwards and post graduate assessments that level the playing field. Had you said that places and personalities involved in ones training reflects on the career, I would say yes. In medicine, it’s better to be amongst the star graduate of a smaller medical school than… Read more »
Red flag to a bull but Arsenal will get top four next season. Of course, the usual suspects on here who spray the comment section with AK47 levels of anti-Arsenal negativity will sneer at that but then again they used to ridicule Wenger about his comments about top 4 being like a trophy. They’ve had to eat those words. Football is cyclic, it always was. Sure, it is harder for it to be so today due to the financial doping that has reduced competitiveness and fair competition but nonetheless, teams will have periods of differing success. Years of underinvestment and… Read more »
Football is cyclic, it always was
Sure is. 25 years in Europe and now no european football… cyclical… trust the process.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 13:38:15 Bully for Silicon Valley startups, but not everything can be so easily applied to other industries. There’s little crossover between a professional athlete that has a very generous 10 years at the top of the sport, vs a tech nerd that has a 40 year career awaiting him. Deviations and ‘greater good’ personal gains are far more prevalent in the professional world than they are in elite sports. Why? Because elite athletes want the elite opportunities at the elite clubs because they’re hungry for success and the profile that goes with that success. ——– I… Read more »
Habesha
It’s a strange one with the German players.
I thought Werner for £50 million was going to be a decent buy, he was scoring for fun at Leipzig. However, 6 goals in 35 Premier League games is a poor return and his ability to run off-side was second to none, shocking really with his pace. Even Havertz return of 4 goals in 27 games is poor.
Dissenter Of course it’s regulated, but being the best of the best programmes is always the premier ambition of the most elite in the field – rare exceptions notwithstanding. Arsenal are that ilk in England, and those that come here should have an attitude that befits the clubs own ambitions. Wanting to be a star at Villa because you don’t back yourself to be a star at Arsenal is cause for concern. “In medicine, it’s better to be amongst the star graduate of a smaller medical school than a mid-percentile graduate of an illustrious medical school.” It’s better to be… Read more »
PhD,
Look, you even missed couple of names in there like Ziege, Hitzlsperger, Gundogan and Emre Can.
But there are also others like Holtby, Karius, Mustafi, Schurrle, Schweinsteiger, Marko Marin and lately Havertz and Werner who obviously can turn it around but have not exactly impressed.
It’s a bit like UK players not going abroad much. Players prefer to stay in their country. Hence why there haven’t been far too many top class players from the two nations playing abroad.
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 15:14:35
Arsenal are that ilk in England.
———–
Arsenal were of that ilk.
AFC
You wrote that “years of underinvestment and poor management may have left us behind but I believe a return to the top table is around the corner.”
Surely there cannot be anything negative about people bemoaning where that “poor management” has brought us to. Some people also disagree with the notion that a return to the table is around the corner with the Arteta-Vinai-Edu combo.
Some of us don’t believe in Arteta. A manager who’s had 8th place in two consecutive seasons shouldn’t be allowed top remain at the helm – that in itself is representative of poor management.
ÄFC Forever: “I know a good season will piss off a lot of you on here; it’s harder to get away with daily anti-Arsenal content if the team are doing well, but I’m sure you will find something else to moan about.” You really think that I won’t be happy if Arsenal have a successful season? And you reached that conclusion how? That I’m unhappy after an 8th place finish and you are?! Genius! You lot are deluded as it gets. Imagine thinking that I’ll be upset if Arsenal are doing well. It’s why I’m upset to begin with, cause… Read more »
raptoraJune 7, 2021 15:14:44
Yes,you are right.I missed out Emre Can, Ziege(of M’boro-right?),Hitzlsperger(Villa?)-did he not have a blistering left foot?
I swear I used to have him in my team when playing Xbox so many moons ago..And Gundogan of course..
I felt Schweinsteiger was a player,before he left for Manure.They got him,when he was past his peak..He was done by then I think..
Yeah,but fair shouts from your corner of the world..
Are you based in Canada?
Read that today and now Fabrizio confirms it.
Fabrizio Romano
Leicester are in advanced talks to sign Odsonne Édouard from Celtic, now working to complete the deal – many clubs interested so #LCFC keen to secure it quickly.
Not yet at signings stage but Leicester board now confident. Soumaré deal with Lille, done and confirmed.”
Solid Summer for Leicester already.
AFC Forever
“””””Even Havertz return of 4 goals in 27 games is poor.””””
Yes but his 4th goal was a good one though.
I am sure that 1 goal alone has paid his fee off.
We will get back in the CL , I am sure.
We have less games. Mikel will work his magic Monday to Friday without interuption.
‘Process’ full steam ahead now.
“”Be excited””
New post.
PhD,
I’m based in Bulgaria.
ValentinJune 7, 2021 14:50:18
Yes,fair points with the NFL and NBA..
They were points I thought about putting forward,but opted to keep it simple.
Golden State Warriors prior to 2014-2015 is another team,that you can cite as an example-maybe?Last championship won by them was circa 1975,then went on to win it in 2015,2017,2018.In between,signed KD(Kevin Durrant) during the 2016 season as maybe he could see what the vision was.
Point being,regardless of the history,could see a plan, a path in place.
That is not currently evident at Arsenal,if we look over a ten year period as an example.
Not that I’m interested in old odd issues or anything…but why do people here prefer to react? It was terribly obvious that Mikel wouldn’t be able to do the job immediately, but almost everybody here was cool with it…then he began to tank it and this place becomes ever flooded with reactions. I was here day and night then, stating a million reasons per minute on why Mikel shouldn’t be hired. Had we all ACTED, our collective objection could have spread from here to Twitter and from Twitter into Edu/Vinai/Josh’s heads. Don’t let anyone tell you Twitter doesn’t matter…Twitter so… Read more »
So there you have the answer.Provided by Raptora.Thankyou.
Buendia chose Villa because the wanted him more made it obvious by bidding substantially higher,showing his worth to them.Also crucially. & It’s gone under the radar .He is Argentinian.so is Martinez.They have family ties & both have the same agent.Doesn’t take a genius to work out why Villa fancied their chances.Arsenal were up against it from the off.Should have done their homework.
Think the days of it taking forever to fire a manager are in the past.For those who want Arteta gone.If the signs are mid table by Halloween then he’s gone.Well have adopted the Chelsea format of hire & fire.Works for them.perhaps a little less so for Spurs.😜
Pete
“Works for them.perhaps a little less so for Spurs.😜
Ha ha. Hiring and Firing has left Spurs with a sixty-year league title drought and a thirty-year FA Cup one. Chelsea can hire and fire because their squad is loaded with top players.