Arsenal fans are absolutely raging on a 24/7 cycle at the moment. Matt on the podcast told me he thinks we’re nearing New York Knicks levels of consistent disappointment in the way things go for our club. I could not disagree.
Old Le Grove would double down and join the thomas party. New Le Grove needs some light this summer. So I’m going on the counter here.
First thing we need to remember: Nothing has happened yet.
Emi Buendia rumours are simply rumours. Remember, the world of ‘transfer gossip’ is now big business if you want to be famous for something utterly pointless.
‘Oh, what I’ve heard is Edu wore the wrong shirt on the zoom’
‘Arsenal were interested, but slow’
‘Arsenal offered up a payment structure unbefitting of their prestige’
‘There wasn’t a good plan from Arteta’
Come on people, all of these things can’t be true, so what’s the point in raging?
Here’s what happens with transfer rumour merchants.
One person says ‘ARSENAL TO BID FOR BUENDIA’
Others hopeful ITKs don’t want to miss out so will support the rumour with blend of ‘hearing the same’ and ‘they’ve scouted him’ or the ultimate copout ‘they like the player.’
This is an echo chamber used to protect reps, but it’s not grounded in reality, because most people don’t really have good sources on transfer deals.
When everyone is saying a similar shade of the same thing, fans take it as gospel, not realising there’s a whole world of hedging that goes on in this game. I can’t even feel sorry for people, I get sent tweets from smart people ‘@Joerbill698490000 ‘DEAL IS CLOSE ON X PLAYER’… like, honestly, these are the accounts that are riling you up? Every summer, 10 accounts hoping to get famous show up with fake rumours, every summer, people follow along and get angry when it falls through.
Next up.
Sometimes YOUR taste in players is absolutely terrible. Same here people, I’ve tied my reputation to some absolute shockers over the years. Where I’m going here is this: Last summer, Arsenal fans were tweeting ‘This club is FINISHED’ when Edu tried to move for Jorginho and John Stones. A season on, how are we feeling about those taste levels?
Reuben Neves might be an unsexy signing but that doesn’t mean he can’t fit the club as a whole. Do my loins moisten? No. But look, not many people have purred over Jorginho over the past few years, and it’s clear that every manager that works with him loves him, now he’s a Champions League winner. John Stones was a joke on this forum, I’ve had one guy tweet me every time he makes a mistake for years because I liked him, now he’s a league winner and one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Pulling players out of underperforming clubs, if done with sharp data analysis, can be a winning move. Can’t imagine too many Arsenal fans were clamouring for Wijnaldum when he was bumming around at Newcastle, now he’s out at Liverpool and he’s joined PSG. Can you imagine if we’d gone for Choupo Moting after Stoke? He just signed a new deal with Bayern. We have to give this new scouting model a crack, if the sharp people on the laptops are recommending these players, then let’s see what’s what before crying that our club is over.
Everyone keen to jump on the Bissouma bandwagon, his agent is pushing his clients’ name towards Arsenal this summer, and it would make a lot of sense. Why are Arsenal fans excited about him? Because we’ve been starved of athletes for years. We’d take power and pace over a technician all day long (not that Bissouma is just P&P), but there has to be a balance. Again, I have no idea if we’re in for him, but he checks a lot of boxes and we have a make-weight with Eddie that would suit Brighton’s need for a proper finisher next season.
There’s also a lot of slander in the system for Martin Odegaard packaged with bad business ideas.
Here are the rules for Odegaard.
- He’s either good enough or he’s not. If the analysts at Arsenal have watched him at uncomfortably close quarters for 5 months and there’s still a ‘maybe’ about him, we shouldn’t go back for him. Reality? 5 months of intimate scouting will tell Arteta and Edu exactly what they need to do.
- You don’t loan a 22-year-old for a year if you are convinced he’s good enough. Creativity is a massive issue at Arsenal, he’s a big creator, if he’s the one, we need him on a perm deal. Developing other clubs talents is an absolute no-no, because we’re either pumping his price, or we’re bringing in an uncomitted duffer like Dani C and we’ll not move forward. There needs to be an answer.
- Football is bankrupt the world over. This summer will mark one of the most distressed markets in history. Odegaard is gettable this season for a good price because Madrid will likely have bigger targets elsewhere. Move on him now.
- Concerns about impact should be very much weighed against a few things. Firstly, he had only played 300 minutes prior to joining us in January. Secondly, the Premier League is really hard to adapt to. Thirdly, he came into a very broken squad. I think there is every chance that with a good preseason and a better understanding of the league… he could blow up.
Big club buy, they don’t rent.
The final rumour I want to talk about is the swap deal for Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey.
I really hope we don’t go there. 65 appearances in 2 season, 6 goals, 6 assists. £400k a week deal. 30 years old. Injured all the time. He is not reliable, his numbers have cratered, and he’s been a superstar signing that has contributed to Juve falling off. Let him go to Everton.
The one joy I’ve taken from most of the transfer rumours this summer is the players all seem be sub 25 years old. That’s how it should be. We need a squad of sharp talent that we can develop and grow with. I don’t want to revisit old movies we know the ending of. How often has going back in time worked for Arsenal? Almost never. We are bad at signing older players, really bad.
The big lesson of last season is that the younger players respond better to the way of Mikel Arteta. Older players aren’t interested because they are at the stage of their careers where they don’t need to learn new tricks.
PhD2020,
Thanks mate – the image of Pedro with a BBC looming behind him is permanently etched into my brain.
AFC, I think that day of reckoning is coming for football. The next TV deals are unlikely to be as generous as the current ones. Also the idea that the European will be able to exploit the Chinese, Middle-East enthusiasm for European football is going to hit reality and political power. Both China and India are trying to assert their dominance, so neither government will sanction any deals that take too much money out of the country. Also at home I think that the ESL conspirators have under estimated the extend of the rejection. Politicians know that they are into… Read more »
“Sacked a week before a cup final no less because they thought that little of him”
A strange decision considering how pathetic Tottenham looked in that game.
Jose is a has been but ask me who is the favorite to set up the team for a win in a cup final between Mourinho and Ryan fucking Mason, and there can only be one answer.
“Wait are you talking about playing the market smart by suggesting a defender who already moved for 50 million while Bayern snapped up Upamecano for less than 40 million at 22? Genuinely brilliant that“ You missing the point again? I’m shocked. His stock was low end of last season, he was widely reported to be available for 20 mil as City were securing Ake for 40 mil. Even at that price he was scoffed at on here by numerous (you included). So your counter to John Stones at 20 mil is Upamecano at just shy of 40 mil? Paying a… Read more »
Im as optimistic as i allow myself to be, Pedro. Neither good nor bad, just “waiting” for the first domino to fall.
Believe me, I want nothing more than to want Arsenal to succeed. I take zero pleasure from last season as the results were very much not ideal and of course having others revel in our misery again, is not ideal.
Trust the process is it, so i will await movement from management and remain hopeful of better days.
AFC, i did not mention Willian at all, check it for yourself. If you want to make assumptions then that is solely on you.
Signing Willian is on management and not the player. Its the proverbial albatross around their neck and will linger for about as long as a rancid fart in in an enclosed room.
Who signed Willian? Willian himself?? Come on, you are better than that.
Jeez, China. You hella durty.
Paying a premium for the sexiest players going is literally all you know, you’ve no grounds to comment on smart anything.
He’s literally joining Bayern Munich…at 22…for something incredibly affordable given his quality and potential. I mean you suggesting a Man City cast off as smart and dismissing a highly rated CB who Bayern just snapped up is again just brilliant mate.
I am just more worried about the club’s reasoning that Buendia is an alternative to Odegaard because they are wildly different players. Their play styles are nothing similar. Buendia, talented as he is has played pretty much all his career on the right. Think that’s his best position IMO as he drifts from the left to pick up spaces in the center. Think of him like a very poor man’s Hazard. I’d have wanted him here if we didn’t have Pepe and Saka playing on the right. Ultimately I think it was the right decision not to bid anymore than… Read more »
Ernest, it’s always amusing to see people get so riled by the process… but in any business, it’s an extremely real thing. I built a team over here, it has taken 4 years for it to bang. There was a very real process. Lay the foundations, build elite process, up-level the talent as you cycle through, watch the work get better and better. It’s the same with football. Have a strong vision, build around that vision, make incremental improvements, upgrade talent… hope you bang at some point. The only silver bullet is money, which we don’t have, and even then,… Read more »
Valentin Guendouzi deserved everything he got. It was about time we got tough with players, we had been too soft for years. Can’t have it both ways. His behaviour was unacceptable and by all accounts, he’s been a royal pain in the arse in Berlin. It’s not just about what a player does for 90 minutes, football is more than that. If you have a disruptive influence in and around the training camp it really isn’t good, especially as we have a lot of young players. At Berlin, he came on a sub and within three minutes had gifted Leipzig… Read more »
Oh, now we trust the reports of John Stones being available for 20m and Ake for 40m.
But when it’s about Arsenal bidding for Buendia like Pedro says – “echo chamber” and fake gospel. Duly noted.
Ben, agree there. If he was a target, that would mean we’ll be signing another player in his image. Because Odegaard is a different beast entirely.
Its a painful process Pedro…LOL
We have 33 pros on the books 13 of those have to go before we even think about bringing in new players we have such an unbalanced squad
Pedro Unai Emery wasn’t allowed time to build a process. Remember that when you preach time over results and form
Raptora, you can put your trust in twitter, but you’ll constantly get burned.
“you can put your trust in twitter, but you’ll constantly get burned.”
Darned right, theres also some crazy guy named Pedro that posts on Twitter a lot. Wonder if he’s the same Pedro of LeGrove infamosity??? 😉
Again this is Arsenal fans in a nutshell arguing about the likes of David Luiz and John Stones meanwhile there’s better and more successful clubs out there snapping up the likes of Upamecano, Konate and Reuban Dias who some fans scoff at. This fanbase is going places
AFC Forever, sorry, but if you truly believe that everyone thought that Willain was a good signing then you must have a memory problem. I’d say at least 80% on here were saying what a crap idea buying another Chelsea pensioner was. Remember, we’d just had the Luiz extension against the wishes of the majority of supporters, almost no-one was celebrating adding Willian to the list of shame.
PedroJune 7, 2021 17:47:51
Raptora, you can put your trust in twitter, but you’ll constantly get burned.
——
We’ve put our trust in Arsenal for nigh over a decade.Scratch that, since the Emirates move..Look how that’s turned out?
Two consecutive 8th place finishes and out of all European cup competitions, for the first time in almost 25 years.
Question is -who to trust nowadays or who can you trust?
I’d like to put in a plug for the Abraham-Auba swap. The only thing that worries me though is that Auba would be crap for Chelsea all season except he’d score 3 beautiful goals against us every time we met. 🙂
I like how John Stones and Jorginho names are being thrown around as a “I told you so”. Same madafakas expect that that these two would have performed as good at Arsenal as they did for City and Chelsea. LOL!!! You are aware that Willian was this close to being a top class player at Chelsea and Auba was banging goals for free. Then Mr. sauce has a few weeks to transmit his ideas, and suddenly both become beyond horrible. You call this optimism? I call it agenda driven bs by the crowd that just decided that Arteta is the… Read more »
On Stones the snag is that for a defender who can’t actually defend £50m is a pretty heavy price. The only reason he can play for City is that he spends more time on the ball than he does on his defensvie duties. Watch him struggle in the Euros.
Ernest Read “Signing Willian is on management and not the player” Willian had just won Chelsea’s player of the season, scored 13 goals and had also won their goal of the season. He had won a number of trophies and aside from Hazard was probably Chelsea’s best player. I was pleased when we signed him, so were many others who all thought it was good business getting Chelsea’s player of the season on a free. Of course, the hindsight experts will say otherwise. Ultimately he failed, his performances were poor and at times there seemed to be a lack of… Read more »
Marko scoffing at John Stones as a talent after spending last summer aggressively telling us Emi Martinez was shit.
Yes Marko, Unai Emery wasn’t allowed to build a process at Arsenal which tells you what people thought of his ideas and football vision.
Dunno if arsenal tried to sign buendia or not. Thought a lot about last summer and the midfielders arteta seemed to chase. Also thought a lot about what he has said about tactics and evolving over his time spent here. I think that they want arsenal to play 4-3-3 next season. Also it seems pretty clear that arteta would like his midfielders to be more dynamic and athletic. The signing of partey is clear evidence. The fact that aouar was chased also points towards this. Buendia is a very good player but i think that mikel would prefer to bring… Read more »
AFC
I have performed due diligence on everyone that i have ever had responsibility over and over a now 5 year period i can honestly say that i have been disappointed twice, not because they were poor performers, because they were good and developed very well and chose to move on to bigger and better opportunities.
Performing due diligence is a requirement AFC, taking the word of a parasitic agent as gospel is not. Care to refute that?
I’m not scoffing at John Stones I’m scoffing at the idea that signing him is a smart move compared to Upamecano.
Could also say Pedro calling for time and patience after hounding out the previous manager for the best part of 18 months. Not to mention getting it wrong on certain super agents but that’s a touchy subject
which tells you what people thought of his ideas and football vision.
Of course the same people who dithered making a decision on Wenger all those years you criticized them and who currently dither on a manager who’s overlooked our worst season in 25 years? Those guys… cannot be trusted
you can put your trust in twitter, but you’ll constantly get burned.
——
Aren’t you on twitter?
Also what did I get wrong about emi Martinez? That I thought Leno was the better keeper? Oh you got me there apparently
Andy
I’m glad you found the energy to challenge that AFC Willian transfer recollection …….I couldn’t.
The length of the deal, his wages, and the fact he would take minutes from others were all points raised against his transfer.
People acknowledged he would probably improve the squad but that was as high a praise as he got.
Rich and CG pulled their hair out.
I just find it too odd that almost every single one of the people who wanted Wenger out, is now Arteta out. Minus Pedro. He jumped ship.
Micah Richard gave me one of the biggest laughs of the weekend
Speaking about Thierry Henry;” He (nut)megged me and then he winked at me and then he was gone. ‘
https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/football/57290892
How did we go from players that can meg another, wink at them and then be gone to players like Willian that can’t run in a straight line.
AFC Forever “Willian had just won Chelsea’s player of the season, scored 13 goals and had also won their goal of the season”.
Really? I’d check that if I were you, Willian scored 11 goals (nine in the league), Kovacic was their player of the season, and Tomori scored their goal of the season. So that’s 0/3 for accuracy.
Also Chelsea saw fit to release him which tells you all you need to know.
Marko
Looks like “smart” purchasing is another concept to fly a mile over your head.
Paying the circa 20 mil for Stones last summer would’ve been a smart move, buying Jorginho last summer again would’ve proven a shrewd move – you were against both which surprises nobody. The accumulation of smart additions is what elevates a football club and allows for marquee purchases like a VVD to add that special something.
You were heavily in favour of Pepe and Saliba who have offered the worst return on 100 mil I can think of in recent memory.
Andy
LOL
CC
How can Saliba be as bad return on money when he’s not gotten a chance to fail or succeed?
You ought to apply the blame for Saliba on the manager that you won’t stop defending.
Diet Pep fan boys suffering from cognitive dissonance
Andy With all due respect mate, you lot piss on everything. It’s what you do. We could be in for Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Aguero and the usual suspects will be moaning about Messi & Aguero being only five feet seven. It is quite depressing how you ‘nobs’ make very little attempt to be reasonable on here. I don’t trust a word most of you say because you debate from a dishonest & disingenuous position. It is a shame but it is what it is. I’ve tried my best over time to discuss football and be fair but it always… Read more »
Yeah,
Let’s throw Saliba under the bus because a certain someone didn’t like him. After a horrific management of what to do with him, him basically doesn’t play for half a season, goes on loan in the second half of the season, starts 20/22 games and does enough to earn himself a nomination for the Fans team of the season.
Makes sense.
“With all due respect mate, you lot piss on everything. It’s what you do. We could be in for Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Aguero and the usual suspects will be moaning about Messi & Aguero being only five feet seven.“
Can’t talk for anyone else but I’m against all three.
Right kroenkephobe, here’s my latest effort to reclaim top spot. ‘Benny and the jets’ Elton John Hey le grove,keep your shit together The spotlight’s hitting Arsenal and we still don’t know whether We’ll get this window right,so stick around You’re gonna hear electric rumours,solid walls of sound Say Ramsey or Odie have you seen them yet? Ooh or is Xhaka out? E E E E Edu and the Tets Oh but they’re weird if not wonderful Oh Edu he’s the transfer king He’s buying Messi’s boots, a Ronaldo suit You know I read it in a magazine Ooh oh E… Read more »
The places people would go to defend a rookie, who lead us to our worst season in 25 years, broke multiple negative records, had beefs with half the squad, got KO’d by the bum Emery and has shown us what boring, robotic, safety first football looks like.
So on the false data you gave for Willian, your answer is that we hate on everything? Wow.
“I don’t trust a word most of you say because you debate from a dishonest & disingenuous position”
Says the person who made up three ‘facts’ about Willian that were completely wrong to support his argument and then got pissed when I pointed that out.
Pot, kettle, black eh?
Raptora “Just find it too odd that almost every single one of the people who wanted Wenger out, is now Arteta out. Minus Pedro. He jumped ship”. It is not odd at all. It is a type of person. Some people are protestors or activist types who have an overinflated value of their opinion. It is a bit narcissistic, always wanting their own way. It doesn’t matter who the next manager is, they will want him out at some stage. Then the next. It’s a game as much as what goes on the pitch. They will be the same types… Read more »
Dissenter
It has absolutely nothing to do with Arteta you buffoon. In 2019 we paid nearly 30 mil for an 18 year old CB that at best we wouldn’t see for 12 months following the terms of the transfer which included loaning him back to France.
The Saliba deal was absolutely ridiculous given the pressing needs of the football club.
you were against both which surprises nobody. I don’t think I was actually against Stones but Jorginho yes. I’m also against the types of signings that get you wet you know the “smart” ones where we target the likes of Stones, Lichtsteiner, Antonio Valencia while we don’t address the RB issue or watch as bigger and better clubs sign up players who we should be looking at signing. It’s very typical of you. You were heavily in favour of Pepe and Saliba who have offered the worst return on 100 mil I can think of in recent memory. I mean… Read more »
PedroJune 7, 2021 17:47:51
you can put your trust in twitter, but you’ll constantly get burned.
———-
Aren’t you on twitter,spreading the gospel?
(slight correction to my earlier post)
CC, agreed that the Saliba deal was dumb but having made it surely it’s on the incoming manager to make the best use of his resources rather than expect to be able to buy a virtually new squad, which given our finances isn’t feasible.
Speaking of transfers , are we good to expect atleast Neves and Ødegaard then ? What is the process here , are we in for a late trolley dash after Euros ? when does the pre season begin ?
Saliba has been a shit transfer for the money paid. No question about it.
How he can perform for other teams and not be fit to play Vs the likes of Dundalk is another thing.
‘I mean he didn’t, he was sacked and went to Italy with his tail between his legs. Sacked a week before a cup final no less because they thought that little of him.’ CC, The news was Jose(3EPL, 2CL)was not going down the ESL route. Levy fired Jose like he did Poch, now he’s begging to have Poch back. So what says he wouldn’t go crying back to Jose in 18 months. Then answer this question: Do you think Roma would have snapped up Mikel had we fired him? Pedro, don’t make stuffs up. People here would tell you my… Read more »
I’m not sure the Saliba deal was dumb he’s highly rated and on the up. What is dumb though is giving him zero opportunities for 6 months while we played Mustafi and then got rid of Mustafi loaned Saliba to France where he played regularly and brilliantly by all accounts. Mikel Arteta made/makes the Saliba deal look dumb cause he hasn’t got a clue
PedRo “”””Yes Marko, Unai Emery wasn’t allowed to build a process at Arsenal which tells you what people thought of his ideas and football vision.”””” Never been a fan of The Clown and neither been particularly bothered How, Why and What a manager does behind the scenes as long as they accomplish their clubs goals and ‘do their job'( ie Get AFC in the CL every year) Villarreal under Emery are going ‘banging ‘all the way in the CL next season, with their 1st ever trophy under their belt. We still await our time to go ‘bang’ again – I… Read more »
DS, We are putting all of our eggs in Odegaard’s basket. Someone who we don’t even know if it’s on the market, neither we know for how much money. Most probably our 2nd option for the position is gone too in Buendia. So if the deal with Real and Odegaard fucks up, we’ll probably go to option 3 and who knows who would that be. Odegaard is so slow though and loves the 5 meter passes. Reincarnated Ozil when we finally got rid of the real one. I’m firmly against this which would blow out a significant portion of our… Read more »
AFC Forever, I have no problem debating players, managers, playing styles and so on but if I say something that’s materially incorrect I’m not going to throw my toys out of the pram if someone points that out. If I’m negative it’s because I don’t agree with our ‘process’. Like lumping crosses in to Auba and Laca, I think that it’s dumb so I say so. Like prioritising Odegaard over Buendia, I think that’s a mistake. If we signed Bertrand I’d be dissapointed, if we signed a young hungry LB from the Championship or First Division I’d be happy with… Read more »
Andy You have an over-inflated opinion, like others on here. You think you speak for Arsenal fans but you really don’t. You are a tiny minority of an extreme element. Your Achilles heel is your arrogance. There is a line that you and many other cross on here: that is the line between being manager Out and being Anti-Arsenal. If I was to be brutally honest, that is the bit I really don’t understand. I think the Manager issue is a debate but one that you need to move on from because he isn’t going anywhere. Sure, slagging him off… Read more »
The Arteta Ødegaard obsession has the same vibe than the Arteta Aouar obsession of last summer. Arteta putting all his egg in a single basket and that basket is not going to produce anything. Then at the 11th hour, Edu will have step in and buy a second or 3rd choice at an inflated price because of the delay.
Tom
“”‘””Rich and CG pulled their hair out.”””
Anyone who thought William was a good signing for Arsenal knows NOWT about.
a. Arsenal
b. The game
c. basic business.
I stated this signing would go down in folklore – ON HOW NOT TO PLAY THE TRANSFER MARKET.!
The worst signing in Arsenal’ history, bar none
reminds me of that song
‘ clowns to the left of me’
stuck in the middle with you’
that one.
AFC ForeverJune 7, 2021 18:38:37
Andy
Your Achilles heel is your arrogance.
—-
I would counter,your achilles heel is your blind spot to reality,call it ignorance if you want or wish.
————-
AFC ForeverJune 7, 2021 18:38:37
For all Pedros best efforts, some of you just aren’t interested in what he has to say. Usually because he is bang on the money.
———
Could you cite some examples of being ‘bang on the money’ for us no-nothing, ungrateful beings?
Just asking.
Raptora, Saliba telling his agent to feedback to the club that’s he’s desperate to play for us next year.
‘Horrific treatment’ doesn’t seem to have converted to a transfer request or a lack of enthusiasm.
Like the Emperor was trying to point out, I don’t think Buendia would ever pass up Arsenal for Villa. For all he knows Villa might land back in the champ by the end of next season.
And let’s face it guys, Arsenal are in a very bad spot right now, but players still know what it does to their brand to play for Arsenal. Only in comics would any player choose Everton/Leicester over Arsenal, let alone a champ candidate Villa.
I think some smart Jones is playing the media to force our hands…and I think the three musketeers aren’t blinking.
“You have an over-inflated opinion, like others on here.”
Says the Self appointed Super fan guy who goes on to write a judgmental essay in the next paragraphs. Including the below.
“You think you speak for Arsenal fans but you really don’t.”
Bris You keep waving the Jose flag, I’m sure Spurs will go crawling back to the principled man of the people. Andy Not disputing that, but he wasn’t moving the needle this season for us. We had the 3rd best defence in the league, our defensive performance wasn’t our downfall. Saliba has been an irrelevance in a two year period where we’ve finished mid-table – and we paid a premium for him. Absolutely nothing smart about that allocation of funds, a spare 30 mil bags us Aouar last summer, or Buendia the summer before that, who does infinitely more for… Read more »
Saliba needs to be given playing time to see where he is at early if he is deemed not ready we can loan him again
Loaning Harry Kane did him no harm or Ashley Cole
Champagne CharlieJune 7, 2021 18:48:18
Absolutely nothing smart about that allocation of funds, a spare 30 mil bags us Aouar last summer, or Buendia the summer before that, who does infinitely more for our ambitions than a teen defender.
——–
So,this comes down to planning,preparation,identifying targets early.Operating smartly,with a blueprint and a vision in place.
It all comes down to the same thing..Who is hiring the competent(incompetent) people to implement such a strategy?Who oversees the strategy and who signs it off?
CG
reminds me of that song‘ clowns to the left of me’
stuck in the middle with you’that one.
I’ll get working on that one for you….
PedroJune 7, 2021 18:44:15
Raptora, Saliba telling his agent to feedback to the club that’s he’s desperate to play for us next year.
Sorry Pedro, but this is again from Twitter. Either I believe this & that we were beaten by mighty Villa for Buendia or none.
Xhaka edging closer to Roma apparently.
How we replace him will be interesting, and no doubt another bone of contention on here.
Mb, believe nothing is better for you mental health than ‘believe it all’… so you can ignore the Saliba comment by all means.
Valentin, Edu put the eggs in two baskets… Aouar and Partey. Then he signed Partey.
Buendia: £30m
Grealish: £100m
A cover goalie: £10m
Total : #140m
Leave the rest of the sorting for later.
Then play Balogun as first choice 9
Result: Top 4.
And to think we have £100m worth of dross or more if you throw in Willock.
In any case, the blantant fact is if we are going to get top 4, the time to get it is now in the TW, not when the season begins.
The 3 musketeers should be talking to Grealish about how at Arsenal he will be INSTANT king but at City just an eventual prince.
Almunia
Stealers Wheel.
Stuck in the middle with you.
They should play it at The Emirates every match when the teams come running out.
Very apt.
“30 mil teenagers are commodities for teams like United, Chelsea, City, and arguably Liverpool in their current state (but that’s a stretch), teams than piss money and can park a talent on loan somewhere without detracting from their immediate needs in a transfer window.“ Leicester didn’t have a problem finding use for their 30mil CB teenager who wasn’t even rated as high as Saliba. Saliba wasn’t moving the needle for us but his treatment sure moved the needle on his valuemeter. Fofana’s value has gone up while Saliba’s plummeted. But suppose that’s not Arteta’s job to worry about someone else’s… Read more »
Wanted Buendia but I still think we will buy the right players, hopefully adding to last season we will b further in getting rid of the players we’ve not needed. I think with a proper pre season we can properly go for top 4
I remember people on here saying what’s the point of top 4 we’re not going to win the CL anyway..
Tom
Leicester put him straight into their first XI and dropped the worst defence (50) in the top 8. Really not the boast you think it is.
Arsenal dropped the 3rd best defence without Saliba getting a kick which speaks to him being superfluous relative to our needs. This, after a mandatory year-long loan back to St.Etienne the day of his signature.
Spending 30 mil on teenage defenders is never about the now, including Leicester as you’ve highlighted.
Almunia
Steeler’s wheel. The late great Jerry Rafferty is involved in that tune I recall. The inclusion of that song made Reservoir Dogs a great film. Would make a great tune about the second leg against Villareal.
Well I don’t know what I’m watching tonight
Arteta’s 4-1-4-1 system is shite
Thomas Partey is getting nowhere
We look scared and fucking lacking in flair.
Xhaka to the left of me, Bell is to the right
Here I am stuck in the middle alone…
I dont mind signings as long as they are done with some planning and vision in mind . It should be more in line with Partey and Gabriel type and not the Willian type. With Arsenal is hard to figure out because Arteta doesnt have a vision lined up yet . Still onboard with Ødegaard and Neves. Positive has to be moving Xhaka out . The last of Mustafi Xhaka Ozil axis of evil would be gone.
You back in the pub yet?
Tony I really enjoyed that tune you left for us this morning, never heard it before. It’s unreal,no matter what age I get to I’ll never hear all the great songs out there. I think you’re right to keep your powder dry on this window,there is a real sense of urgency for once. That doesn’t necessarily equate with good deals getting done but they’ll have to be given the chance. Mess it up,nowhere to hide, get it right,I for one will hold my hand up and admit I got it wrong. Still better than all the latter day Wenger windows… Read more »
How is when Leicester City buy players from Lille, they get their 50% discounts?
CG Kroenkephobe beat me too it! Great tune though, especially if you were seated between Attwood and Piers Morgan. Kroenkephobe Nice one,you’re too quick off the mark for me. No, I never made it to the pub,the whole country opened up today,pubs,restaurants, cinemas etc and I’m still at home! Have a day out lined up at the end of the week. My prediction regards the weather was totally wrong, lovely day for drinking outside,must be waiting for my day out! Loved Reservoir Dogs, classic. Watched The Gentlemen last night,disappointed, had heard it was very good. Whisper it,but I’m a fan… Read more »
I like others are disappointed we did not land Buendia I am guessing it came down to: 1. Emi M being his mate 2. Emi telling him how things are at Arsenal 3. His role with Arsenal and how he will be used So it could be many factors… and money might not the entire story. … or moving to London The worry is now, other teams know what we have to spend on a CAM and will raise their valuations to some degree How much money KSE will chip in is also a mystery. However, its been noted that… Read more »
so Emily Brenda wants to be a villain, I’d be surprised if Jack stays. I’d offer 65 plus add ons dependant on making the top four.
one of my wolves mates few years ago had the most banter. he genuinely believed Ruben was better than anything we had and that with him they’d be taking our place at the top.
funny old world, can’t wait to see him again just to see the look on his face after we sign his Portuguese Jesus.
Leicester put him straight into their first XI and dropped the worst defence (50) in the top 8.
If you can’t see the upside long-term to Leicester signing and playing Fofana compared to I dunno sitting him on a bench for 6 months and then loaning him out then I dunno. I do wonder if your opinion on this particular subject would be the same if it was Emery fucking over Saliba… I’m guessing probably not
Marko, I’m sure you’d be celebrating the upside to bottling the Champions League two seasons running if it were because of the longterm value of a CB that contributed to conceding 50 goals.
And how the F did AV sign Buendia if the window is not even open? is that because he came from Championship? WIndow open for Championship players early?
Marko You’ve already demonstrated your inability to grasp “smart” transfers. Spending 30 mil on an 18 year old CB we couldn’t play until 12 months later to help us get back into the top 4 doesn’t rank on the list of “smart”. “Long-term” benefits are neither here nor there when your immediate goals are inhibited by purchases strictly for the future. Gabriel is also going to be better in the future, but at 22 he had enough top-flight experience to offer in the now as well as later. Saliba didn’t because immediately he was loaned back as terms of the… Read more »
AFC Forever, if you read my post you’ll see that I say ‘I’ think, I don’t make any claim to represent other Arsenal fans at all, just my own opinion.
On the other hand there you go again defining what are ‘true Arsenal fans’ like you speak on behalf of them while declaring anyone opposed to your view is in a tiny minority of extremists.
Isn’t it just a bit arrogant to believe that you can determine between those that are true fans and those that are not?
Starting forrfana over soyuncu and Evans as a pair ultimately cost Leicester top 4
@ Curse – Villa want £120m for Grealish. Of course that’s posturing but I’d be surprised if he went for much less than £100m. I wouldn’t expect us to sign him, it’s not realistic. Whoever we do sign though needs to be aggresive and dynamic, and we certainly need to pick up some goals from somehwere.
Some people cannot understand “smart transfer” like Willian. Nor can they appreciate “Long Term” benefits like extending David Luiz a past-It Brazilian restauranteur with some of the worst stats in the league in term of mistakes. Nor can they see the logic in convincing a player who is patently unsuited for the league like Xhaka to stay instead of accepting a £20 millions offer for his services. And then trying to flog him for less the following summer. On the other hand “smart” people can absolutely see the process working. Despite finishing out of Europe for the first time since… Read more »
“Leicester put him straight into their first XI and dropped the worst defence (50) in the top 8. Really not the boast you think it is.“ Charlie, linking Fofana ditectly to Leicester conceding 50 goals this season without going into details of his and the entire teams ’ performance is probably a bit …..to use your favorite phrase….. reductive ? I came across some stats a month ago or so that compared his numbers favorably to those of Maguire’s before his United transfer, and VVD’s in his Pool title winning season.( clearances, interceptions, tackles won etc) And if remember correctly… Read more »
Andy
it would be, say 15m in add ons, not sure any club let alone villa wouldn’t seriously consider 80m for one player. they’re not making top four ever, they know it, we know it and I’m pretty sure Jack knows it.
just need Mr chilly to do his job.
“Marko, I’m sure you’d be celebrating the upside to bottling the Champions League two seasons running if it were because of the longterm value of a CB that contributed to conceding 50 goals.”
Thus sayeth the man who draws up arbitrary league tables to defend a manager that has us in 8th place for the second consecutive seasons.
Leicester have finished above your man for two seasons now, show some respect please
Even Emery beat him like a busted drum
Tom keown said the same thing at the end of the season playing forfana over soyuncu or evans cost Leicester top 4