Good post Pedro. It has been a fantastic season by all accounts. This season we will challenge City again and improve our position in the CL for sure. It is tough, but to win the league we have to virtually win all our games. We have to hit minimum 100 points. That's a tall ask but it is quite possible considering how we performed last season. Looking forward to a very special season. COYG!!!
The transfer window will be opening shortly and as usual the rumour speculation is rampant.
Arsenal have been linked as usual with a shed load of outgoing and incoming transfers most of which are frankly likely to be fictitious.
The one certainty that should be settled by the outset of the window is that Arsenal will exercise option to buy Raya and that will cost £27 million.
The consequence of that transfer will be that Ramsdale should be offloaded. The problem for
Arsenal is that our expectation is that someone else will pay us at least a similar transfer fee.
However, his wages may limit as usual the fee that other clubs will offer.
Moving on there is some consensus that Arsenal should offload players in midfield and attack. The
names mentioned are Partey, Vieira and Smith-Rowe in midfield and Nketiah and Nelson in attack.
The easiest to shift albeit not the most popular outgoing is Smith-Rowe. By all accounts his wages
are relatively low. The main problem is his injury record, which could impact on his transfer fee.
Another injury prone player is Partey. He will be difficult to shift because he is on £200 K Pw wages.
So unless some Saudi Club comes in with an offer it is conceivable that Arsenal will be forced to
make the choice of writing off the transfer fee and releasing him on a free as they have done many
times before.
Ideally we should offload Vieira, Nketiah and Nelson, but as usual the impairment to a decent fee
could be these players current wages. Frankly it would not surprise me that these players will be
offloaded for relatively low transfer fees. The idea that Nketiah will fetch the same sort of fee as
Balogun is frankly ludicrous. We will be lucky to get £15 million based on current performance.
There are also several players out on loan ie Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares, Marquinhos, Patino and
Okonkwo. Frankly the sort of clubs likely to come in for these players are not going to spend mega
bucks. I would be surprised if we make £25 million as a collective if these players depart.
On paper [based on transfermarkt] we could expect around £100 million for all these players if sold. Realistically I will be surprised if we generate a similar figure to last season.
Factoring in the £27 million commitment for Raya I expect our remaining budget to be around
£180 million tops. That has to cover a second string goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and of
course at least one forward.
Currently we have got a first team squad of 25. It would not surprise me that will reduced to 23
next season. Man City are currently operating with a squad of 22.
"Thomas Partey’s preference is to stay at Arsenal this summer, despite transfer speculation linking him with a move away.
The Ghana international has just one year left on his contract in north London and has just come off an injury-hit campaign which saw him feature just 15 times in all competitions.
Unlike several other key players in the Arsenal squad, there have been no talks about a contract extension with the 30-year-old over the past 12 months and there is a belief that the club will look to move him on this summer."
I agree with Pedro that Arsenal have laid the foundations of a great team. We should be positive about our progression over the last two years in finishing second behind Manchester City who are
despite the hiccup on Saturday a great team.
I would point out the huge gulf between Arsenal and the teams who finished 4th-8th in EPL.
Arsenal 89 points
Aston Villa 67 points
Spurs 65 points
Chelsea 63 points
Newcastle 60 points
Man Utd 60 points
Man United finished 29 points behind us, which is the equivalent of 9 games won and 2 draws.
I don't recall anytime in history apart from perhaps when Man United were relegated that the margin between the two clubs was so massive.
And yet there some people like Benkind who complain that we don't win trophies!!! His viewpoint
is that Man Utd had more success than us this season!!!
I am fairly sure that the vast majority of Arsenal Supporters are more than satisfied watching a team
that has made the progress which we have achieved this season.
So let's consider the benefits rather than the negatives.
1. We are playing in the Champions League
2. We have built a very good young team playing attractive football.
3. The club has no longer difficulty in attracting world class players.
Sooner rather than later the club will take the final step that all supporter desire and start winning
Pep *supposedly* leaving at the end of next season might be a pretty big red flag that he knows city are likely to be in serious trouble for FFP and he doesn’t want to have committed to be there when they feel the full force of it and are playing against Bristol rovers in league 1
Hey I’m being fanciful. More likely the PL give a soft sentence a year from now, city challenge it and the PL waste another year reviewing the appeal, then give an even lighter slap on the wrist.
But still… if pep not signing might be a back handed indication that he knows they’re in a bad place soon
5 year contract for a manager at Chelsea is hilarious
If you bet a quid on him lasting 5 years and he did you’d bankrupt the betting shop. *impossible* - and Chelsea doing this only ensures they need to pay more comp when they sack him within 18 months. Why why why do this hahaha
Meanwhile Emery just got a 4 year deal. I’m a huge fan of emery but that’s also unnecessarily long. When other big clubs improve it’s unlikely that he will be able to maintain his current levels of overachievement at Villa forever - and when the club is back fighting for 7-8th, the excitement will wear off and the levels may drop. I am a huge fan of his but he’ll be sacked within 2 years, mark my words.
Edu says they’ve been planning this transfer window since Jan and he has notes for over 100 pages attributes, stats, personality etc for players on our shortlist to sign
This is the kind of thing I was hoping for several years back. We won’t get 100% of transfers right, just like we won’t win every match - all you can do is prepare and plan as smart as possible and if you do that generally it will deliver good results.
I believed Arteta when he was saying it otherwise I couldn't believe that Arsenal signed their no 1 keeper to new four year contract in May and then in Sept changed their mind and got a new no 1 that we couldn't afford so had to take him on loan for a year before we could pay.
Pedro isnt interested in working for a political party.
He is a religious man. That thinks Generational came to save Arsenal from football sin. On judgment day, Man c will burn and Arsenal will go to football heaven. Pedro is the supreme leader.
I am yet to recover from the fact that we not only missed the premier league trophy but also Man Utd winning the FA Cup. To think that they had all the luck in the last games to overtake us for the title but were abysmal in the FA cup final against an average Man Utd team
Pedro you are good at creating a narrative. Have you ever thought of working for a political party or a campaign, because they sure would love your penchant to create narratives and build dreams. Frankly all political parties are about building dreams and shifting goal posts.
Anyways I will believe citys punishment when they actually get punished. Unfortunately whenever that happens if ever that happens will be a damp squib. We are forced to live with Fiat accompli. Justice delayed is justice denied
Also there is no guarantee that a year done the line when Pep leaves we will dominate, we will be better placed to take advantage but the proof lies elsewhere. Anyways Pedro you should seriously think about joining a political party mate. Your narrative is seriously good.
Good post Pedro. It has been a fantastic season by all accounts. This season we will challenge City again and improve our position in the CL for sure. It is tough, but to win the league we have to virtually win all our games. We have to hit minimum 100 points. That's a tall ask but it is quite possible considering how we performed last season. Looking forward to a very special season. COYG!!!
The transfer window will be opening shortly and as usual the rumour speculation is rampant.
Arsenal have been linked as usual with a shed load of outgoing and incoming transfers most of which are frankly likely to be fictitious.
The one certainty that should be settled by the outset of the window is that Arsenal will exercise option to buy Raya and that will cost £27 million.
The consequence of that transfer will be that Ramsdale should be offloaded. The problem for
Arsenal is that our expectation is that someone else will pay us at least a similar transfer fee.
However, his wages may limit as usual the fee that other clubs will offer.
Moving on there is some consensus that Arsenal should offload players in midfield and attack. The
names mentioned are Partey, Vieira and Smith-Rowe in midfield and Nketiah and Nelson in attack.
The easiest to shift albeit not the most popular outgoing is Smith-Rowe. By all accounts his wages
are relatively low. The main problem is his injury record, which could impact on his transfer fee.
Another injury prone player is Partey. He will be difficult to shift because he is on £200 K Pw wages.
So unless some Saudi Club comes in with an offer it is conceivable that Arsenal will be forced to
make the choice of writing off the transfer fee and releasing him on a free as they have done many
times before.
Ideally we should offload Vieira, Nketiah and Nelson, but as usual the impairment to a decent fee
could be these players current wages. Frankly it would not surprise me that these players will be
offloaded for relatively low transfer fees. The idea that Nketiah will fetch the same sort of fee as
Balogun is frankly ludicrous. We will be lucky to get £15 million based on current performance.
There are also several players out on loan ie Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares, Marquinhos, Patino and
Okonkwo. Frankly the sort of clubs likely to come in for these players are not going to spend mega
bucks. I would be surprised if we make £25 million as a collective if these players depart.
On paper [based on transfermarkt] we could expect around £100 million for all these players if sold. Realistically I will be surprised if we generate a similar figure to last season.
Factoring in the £27 million commitment for Raya I expect our remaining budget to be around
£180 million tops. That has to cover a second string goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and of
course at least one forward.
Currently we have got a first team squad of 25. It would not surprise me that will reduced to 23
next season. Man City are currently operating with a squad of 22.
Arsenal under Arteta:
2019/20 - 56 points (half season only)
2020/21 - 61 points
2021/22 - 69 points
2022/23 - 84 points
2023/24 - 89 points
2024/25 - ?
How many managers have this kind of consistent progress record? Guess most don't survive long enough.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1128246735153838
Mikel Arteta - by his more experienced peers, and by a pundit or two, and Saka and Xhaka.
Big Tone, behave yourself. Threatening behavior on a blog is not cool. One week suspension.
Charlie Watts on substack -
"Thomas Partey’s preference is to stay at Arsenal this summer, despite transfer speculation linking him with a move away.
The Ghana international has just one year left on his contract in north London and has just come off an injury-hit campaign which saw him feature just 15 times in all competitions.
Unlike several other key players in the Arsenal squad, there have been no talks about a contract extension with the 30-year-old over the past 12 months and there is a belief that the club will look to move him on this summer."
Someone read Vieiras report upto page 45 and Ramsdale upto page 135.
I agree with Pedro that Arsenal have laid the foundations of a great team. We should be positive about our progression over the last two years in finishing second behind Manchester City who are
despite the hiccup on Saturday a great team.
I would point out the huge gulf between Arsenal and the teams who finished 4th-8th in EPL.
Arsenal 89 points
Aston Villa 67 points
Spurs 65 points
Chelsea 63 points
Newcastle 60 points
Man Utd 60 points
Man United finished 29 points behind us, which is the equivalent of 9 games won and 2 draws.
I don't recall anytime in history apart from perhaps when Man United were relegated that the margin between the two clubs was so massive.
And yet there some people like Benkind who complain that we don't win trophies!!! His viewpoint
is that Man Utd had more success than us this season!!!
I am fairly sure that the vast majority of Arsenal Supporters are more than satisfied watching a team
that has made the progress which we have achieved this season.
So let's consider the benefits rather than the negatives.
1. We are playing in the Champions League
2. We have built a very good young team playing attractive football.
3. The club has no longer difficulty in attracting world class players.
Sooner rather than later the club will take the final step that all supporter desire and start winning
trophies.
Arsenal is not a club built on short terms.
Pep *supposedly* leaving at the end of next season might be a pretty big red flag that he knows city are likely to be in serious trouble for FFP and he doesn’t want to have committed to be there when they feel the full force of it and are playing against Bristol rovers in league 1
Hey I’m being fanciful. More likely the PL give a soft sentence a year from now, city challenge it and the PL waste another year reviewing the appeal, then give an even lighter slap on the wrist.
But still… if pep not signing might be a back handed indication that he knows they’re in a bad place soon
5 year contract for a manager at Chelsea is hilarious
If you bet a quid on him lasting 5 years and he did you’d bankrupt the betting shop. *impossible* - and Chelsea doing this only ensures they need to pay more comp when they sack him within 18 months. Why why why do this hahaha
Meanwhile Emery just got a 4 year deal. I’m a huge fan of emery but that’s also unnecessarily long. When other big clubs improve it’s unlikely that he will be able to maintain his current levels of overachievement at Villa forever - and when the club is back fighting for 7-8th, the excitement will wear off and the levels may drop. I am a huge fan of his but he’ll be sacked within 2 years, mark my words.
Edu says they’ve been planning this transfer window since Jan and he has notes for over 100 pages attributes, stats, personality etc for players on our shortlist to sign
This is the kind of thing I was hoping for several years back. We won’t get 100% of transfers right, just like we won’t win every match - all you can do is prepare and plan as smart as possible and if you do that generally it will deliver good results.
That’s a bit disingenuous Pedro to mock people as delusional for thinking Arteta May sub his keepers. It was ARTETA who said it…. At least be honest…
I believed Arteta when he was saying it otherwise I couldn't believe that Arsenal signed their no 1 keeper to new four year contract in May and then in Sept changed their mind and got a new no 1 that we couldn't afford so had to take him on loan for a year before we could pay.
Pedro isnt interested in working for a political party.
He is a religious man. That thinks Generational came to save Arsenal from football sin. On judgment day, Man c will burn and Arsenal will go to football heaven. Pedro is the supreme leader.
I am yet to recover from the fact that we not only missed the premier league trophy but also Man Utd winning the FA Cup. To think that they had all the luck in the last games to overtake us for the title but were abysmal in the FA cup final against an average Man Utd team
Who cares about the FA cup. Prime utd didn’t even compete in the FA cup one season.
No one cates or remembers who won it
Dare we say that ETH had a more Succesful season than Arteta owing to the fact that he won a major trophy and the latter didn’t?
The FA Cup is not a major trophy. Keep crying, though. The rest of us only care about winning the league and Champions League trophies.
By this logic, Arsenal has not won a major trophy in 20 years.
YEP
Would you like to swap ETH for Arteta?
No?
Thought not…
Pedro you are good at creating a narrative. Have you ever thought of working for a political party or a campaign, because they sure would love your penchant to create narratives and build dreams. Frankly all political parties are about building dreams and shifting goal posts.
Anyways I will believe citys punishment when they actually get punished. Unfortunately whenever that happens if ever that happens will be a damp squib. We are forced to live with Fiat accompli. Justice delayed is justice denied
Also there is no guarantee that a year done the line when Pep leaves we will dominate, we will be better placed to take advantage but the proof lies elsewhere. Anyways Pedro you should seriously think about joining a political party mate. Your narrative is seriously good.