Guest post by Varun Shukla (@WengerArmy)
Excerpt from a newspaper advertisement “…the neocortex is a part of the cerebral hemisphere-its outer layer. It is responsible for logical and specific reasoning. This is an appeal to the masses to donate funds for the replacement of Florentio Perez- our supreme leader and messiah’s neocortex. Healthy donations would entitle you to a signed Bale 11 shirt
-sincerely, Real Madrid CF”
Here’s hoping Mr. Perez continues as he is. He has spent, in his two terms as president, an estimated 697 million euros on new signings. True to his Galactico policy, almost all incomings were geared toward making a statement. Luis Figo was the first of these, followed by Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham. Raul and Roberto Carlos are not to be forgotten. In his second term, he continued with the signings of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. All paid for with big money. His dream? A team of superstars who would dazzle and delight the world with their brilliance.
And dazzle they did with the Champions League and 2 La Liga titles in quick succession. (2001,2002 and 2003). Perez wrecked a perfectly good formula however by sacking Vincente Del Bosque. This caused players such as Fernando Hierro and Makelele to leave the club. The new coach Carlos Quieroz was unable to handle the inflated egos of the Galacticos and the dressing room fell apart. They did not win any silverware for the next 4 seasons- shocking when you see the amount of money that had gone into this team.
To be fair to Perez, this project of his has helped rebuild the Madrid brand in the new millennium. Revenues have skyrocketed( RM are the richest club in the world according to Forbes) and the Bernebeau is almost always sold out. The Madrid team sheet on any day is enough to elicit a look of envy from almost everyone. Seen in that light, the decision to offload Ozil is nothing short of baffling.
Arsenal have got the Galactico policy to thank for that. Was it not for Perez’s ideology of buying ‘brands’ rather than value, we would never have gotten Mesut Ozil. Gareth Bale certainly is a brand right now, and could develop into a very good player given time, but as Arsene Wenger said, “They[Real Madid] are very generous” I’ve forgiven him for the bad faith he showed during the Higuain saga, and why not? He’s just given us arguably (although it’d be a VERY feeble argument) the best playmaker in the world- at less than half the value of Bale.
Jose Mourinho, Ozil’s ex manager said, “There is no copy of Ozil, not even a bad one.” Cristiano Ronaldo is planning the biggest ever tantrum in the history of football because he’s ‘angry’ at this transfer. Sergio Ramos has been absent from training for over a week now. Close friends say he’s curled up on his bedroom floor, wrapped in an Ozil shirt and gently sobbing into a pillow. A couple of ex Madrid directors have expressed their surprise and disappointment over the move. Madrid fans at Bale’s unveiling were heard chanting “Ozil is not for sale!” Arsenal steal Spurs’ thunder, yet again Infact, has anyone welcomed Bale yet?
Everyday I open the official Arsenal website and pinch myself in disbelief. The shock just doesn’t fade! And if shirt sales figures are any indication, it’s the same for all of us. There has been a twelvefold increase in shirts sold. The increase in revenue is reportedly <insert value> million.
There isn’t any doubt that Mesut is a top, top, top, quality player- the kind that Arsene Wenger speaks about in his press conferences. He’s also Like A New Signing because…well, he IS one! But I digress. Does the capture of Ozil represent significant ‘ambition’? is it a proper ‘statement of intent’?
Oh ambition! How I loathe that word. The reason for certain players’ departures( that’s what they said, anyway) and a favoured stick to beat the Club with. How many times have we heard the same old ‘Arsenal lack ambition, they’re happy with 4th place’ ditty?
Personally, this signing is neither a statement of intent nor a show of ambition. It is just what the manager said it would be at the post match Derby Day conference- a surprise. For me, a top quality signing has two criterions-
Improves the team: The most crucial requirement. Last season, there were some games where we struggled to create. Cazorla was the only ‘spark’- the sole creator(until Rosicky came back). Mesut’s stats as a playmaker are extraordinary. For example, he is the highest assist provider all over Europe in the last 3 seasons with 72. Numbers don’t tell you the complete picture however. Ozil’s vision and technique is currently second to none. With a counterattacking style like Arsenal’s, and with the freedom he’s going to get from the manager, there is quite literally no end to what he and the team could achieve. If you haven’t seen him yet, pray watch some highlight videos. Now, imagine that service to the Gunners’ forward line. Mesut is the fulfillment of a need.
Impact- The transfer has generated a hugely positive buzz around the Club. As evidenced by the shirt sales and the players’( and staff’s) reactions, everyone is massively pleased with this signing. It just feels wonderful to be an Arsenal supporter right now. Everywhere you see all of the football community talking about us. I can’t help but grin like an idiot everytime I see or hear the words ‘Mesut Ozil has signed for Arsenal from Real Madrid’. I’ve had absolute strangers come up to me to offer their congratulations. It has overshadowed Bale’s move, Spurs’ spending spree, Moyes’ and Mourinho’s appointments. There are envious gazes being shot all over the place, and we’re at the center of it. For once, there isn’t any negativity surrounding the Club. He hasn’t even kicked a ball yet. Signing of the summer? Without a doubt.
The general impression about Arsenal’s summer and Ozil in particular has been the ‘end of austerity’ and the arrival, atlast of a top quality player.
Firstly, Wenger has never shied away from spending money on players who are worth that much. Bids for Mata, Goetze and Suarez are all well chronicled in the media. All were in excess of 30 million. The fact that they didn’t sign on the contract seems to nullify the fact that efforts were made. Chelsea offered more wages to Mata, Goetze doesn’t want to move from Germany(yet) and Suarez’s agent has probably deceived us with the release clause game.
Secondly, this isn’t the only time the Club has attracted top players in recent times. Since 2011, we’ve brought in Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal and finally Ozil this time around. All well known, established internationals( Arteta deserves to be one) Players like this do not sign for you unless you’re going in the right direction, unless you have a definite plan- something else of which we have been accused times. That, and a top manager are essential to attracting players of the best caliber. As Ozil himself said, it was the manager’s faith in him and the vision of where Wenger wanted the club to be that influenced him. (obviously false, we all know Podolski AHA-ed him into it). Manchester United hasn’t had the summer they would have wanted. A major reason being the presence of Moyes- a relative lightweight in the managerial world.
The only negative(?) about this summer is the absence of a new(established) striker. It’s going to be tough getting by with only one proper CF. Giroud needs to keep extremely fit. If his past record is any indication( he’s only been out injured 5 days since 2005) it’ll be alright. We did try for a striker this summer and I remain positive about one in January. And hey, there’s always Bendtner.
Positively Arsenal 
Great piece….. Up Gooners!!!
LikeLike
Good post Varun.
But I am going to nitpick by objecting to your Higuain point in the article. You see, I wouldn’t raise this issue on most of the other blogs but this Positively Arsenal, so I must.
Arsene Wenger and Arsenal management did not cock up the Higuain deal. Real Madrid chose to whore him to the highest bidder and Arsenal refused to be exploited or fleeced. Please let us not propagate this myth along with the Anti-Arsenal/Arsene brigade.
Also, I saw Higuain at the Emirates cup. He is not that great and in my opinion, definitely not worth more than Arsenal were willing to pay for him. OG is, in my opinion, a much better striker than the Argentine. And he is in his second season in the EPL. I agree about the need to get another striker but I don’t think that it is a life or death requirement as many of our fans have been making it. Vermaelen is back and is likely for Saturday but sure for Tuesday, meanwhile we’ve been told repeatedly to buy CBs. What would we be doing with that CB now if we had bought one? We couldn’t have bought just anyone and the ones we could wouldn’t sit on the bench.
Player purchase is a very delicate business that I am just not qualified enough to give suggestions on. That is why I trust one of the best qualified and experienced living person in that area to do his job without any harrassment from me on how to do it. I hope all fans can do the same.
LikeLike
Nice article and I agree with BooTooHim
LikeLike
Great post, Varun, love your enthusiastic style. I assumed the “bad faith” referred to was the bad faith of Perez/RM for reneging on a deal. Having said that, it happens – and we have sometimes benefited from it. I think Higuain to Napoli could all work out for the best for all concerned, though. I am now quite enamoured of the redemption scenario for Bendtner. How realistic my hopes are is another question.
And in other news, TV might be fit for Saturday! It would be great if he could make the bench.
LikeLike
And the U21s beat W Brom last night – 1-0, goal from Gnabry, who was a threat all night. Clearest indication that the “injury doubts” are fit is that he, Frimpong and Ryo played in that match last night.
LikeLike
Solid piece Varun – unlike BTH I can’t see a Higuain point your article – and by God I’ve looked.
Like Wenger, according to what he says, I think it would have been good to bring in another striker as we are short in numbers and a serious injury to Olivier would leave us a little short up front. That is why, presumably, Wenger and the club transfer team spent the Summer and January windows patiently trying to comb out a good signing – thus far with no success.
No doubt January 1st the circus will start again.
And that brings me to my second point.
One delightful aspect of the Ozil transfer was, until the final few hours, no one knew about it. When Arsene smirked on Sunday afternoon that he might have a little surprise the media shook their heads dismissively, less reputable bloggers sharpened their claws for a post TRANSFER WINDOW HORROR SHOW AT AFC headline.
And within 24 hours the rabbit was withdrawn from the hat – the bog signing of the window – no bullshit, no weeks of fevered speculation, no Arrry hanging out of his car window.
That is the way to do business – no fuss, no we’ve got £bigbucks to spend, no leaks, no nonsense. Get the players signed then fucking talk about it.
LikeLike
I think the club did the right thing in backing out of the Higuain deal when Madrid decided to slap another 10 million pounds on the price. It is important that other clubs know that they cannot rip us off now that we have increased financial power.
LikeLike
anicoll5,
This is the line that I was referring to:
“I’ve forgiven him for the bad faith he showed during the Higuain saga, and why not?”
Having read and reread it, I must apologise to Varun. He was referring to Perez but I mangled it with Arsene because of the sentence structure. The next sentence about giving us Ozil for half of Bale’s cost should have made it obvious for me.
Varun,
Please accept my unreserved apology! I’ll be more careful next time before hitting my keyboard.
LikeLike
John Cross gave an account from the club of how they pulled it off – briefly, IG and AW both have good contacts at RM, which they used to ask in June about buying Ozil; they asked to be kept informed of how the Bale negotiations went (on which the Ozil transfer depended, as we know); and in the meantime they misdirected the press with “leaks” about interest in other players, right up to the last minute. When it looked like the deal was on, Arsene charmed Mesut, Dick Law negotiated with Ozil’s dad and IG did RM.
LikeLike
“We had to go through some years when I signed a long-term contract where we had some restricted financial potential. And the target was to stay in the Champions League in this period and we managed to do it. We are now in a strong position financially.”
Sometime you do not realise the contributions of a certain individual until he’s gone and you’re finally able to enjoy shade provided by the tree he has planted.
If ever there’s someone who could be termed as a legend of Arsenal Football Club, for me, AW is second to none. He could have taken the easy way out as soon as he realised that our financial competitiveness would be hampered by the move to Emirates by leaving us for greener pastures (I’m sure he had tons of offers then). I’m certain that another manager who is more concerned about his own CV would. However, he chose the more difficult path, and if I may add a more noble one (in the context of Arsenal).While he may be used to the unsavoury labeling by the media/pundits, it pained me to see him being subjected to ridicules and insults by some of us the so-called gooners immediately after the Villa defeat and prior to the NLD and Ozil signing.
If there’s a fairy-tale ending to this, I hope AW will have the last laugh come the end of the season.
“Arsenal supporters deserve more” <— it is precisely this entitled attitude that demonstrates the exact opposite. If you think you are entitled to sit and watch Arsenal win trophies year after year, you deserve the square root of fuck all.
I just have the word of fellow Gooners about the magic of Wengerball brought alive by the Invincibles, AW’s fiery outbursts that left Fergie red-faced et al. Is that AW dead? No. He had a job to recoup the millions invested in the stadium while being competitive. He’s failed on NO counts whatsoever.
======
i collected the above comments from other blogs to show how the good are winning!!! …the moaning twats have gone very silent in recent weeks…hehehe…
sign da ting arsene and give pain to those who doubted you!!
LikeLike
from7amkickoff
“Did Wenger just admit that Arsenal’s target for the last 8 years was 4th place? ”
lol…does 7am really need wenger to admit it? can our fans who want to run blogs not put two and two together ? useless …..
thats what i meant all these eyars that wenger and clubs stance needed to be diplomatic …and although wenger always knew the ceiling for his teams he would always talk/prompt them to do better, go higher..cause those are the standards to set!
LikeLike
Staggering degree of stupidity by 7am
LikeLike
hehe george remember how people would doubt whether wenger was achieving the targets of the club and how someone should check on his performance and make him answer for the ‘failure’ to win trophies….as if trophies were ever on the menu after building that jewel of a stadium which has driven me nuts …i went to see the u-21s last night….addiction i think is the word….watchign the red and white sleeves bombing forward whenever we got ball..beautiful..inside our house…all teams!!
LikeLike
yeah he must be pretty thick because still in the wording of his question he is trying to hang on the narrative that “only going for 4th place is not good enough for big clubs like arsenal” ….arsene didnt speak about 4th place…arsene spoke about getting into champions league. funny how they still cant get it….
LikeLike
Tommy V back in training today and looking fresh, although he appears to be growing a beard ?
LikeLike
First time reader of this blog. Very positive.
I am not as despondent on another striker as some are. Come January we can go in again for Suarez, Michu, Benteke or Damiao- all will not be CL-tied(provided AW decides the team needs that).
We can test the resolve of Liverpool, and we know Damiao has turned down a move to Tottenham repeatedly.
What the fans of a lot of teams will give to see their club in the CL 14 years in a row!
LikeLike
It was a very productive summer. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Our financial constraints have been reduced somewhat from years past but that doesn’t mean we can go for any player at any time offering any price, similar to some clubs on artificial funds and steroids. OZZI came to us at a reduced rate as he is worth at least as much as some other players transferred this past summer. Much work and foundation was layer out for this transfer to have been successful. Even at that late hour two or three other clubs were in line for him and probably would have paid much more for his signature and Reals agreement. This was not the case of being in the right place at the right time. ARSENAL’S negotiations team truly made their own luck by plenty of preparatory work to make this happen. They are worth their weight in gold as they have to compete on non level ground with teams whom spending money not created by their own endeavors is not a problem. I say this again, WE PAYED FOR OZZI WITH FUNDS ARSENAL EARNED OVER THE YEARS. our own hard earned money. Many other clubs can say this. This fact should be a cause of much pride to gooners worldwide.
WE ARE THE ARSENAL……..
let others chase their own brand of glory by trying to purchase it.
AT AFC FC WE BUILD TOWARD REAL GLORY AND EARN IT….
LikeLike
Great news on TV. welcome back CAP. Another versatile play back in the fold. COYG.
LikeLike
And great result and news from U21’s. Seeking RYO back is excellent. Go FRIMMER. GO GNABRY.
Now to stadium of nolights and a good result there. Watch out for the pitch there lads . Probably in the same horrible conditions as years past.
LikeLike
Hey guys, thanks for your feedback
Bootomee, must say I was ready to come all guns blazing at you until i realised that you’d realised there was no Arsene bashing there. No worries, happens to the best of us!
As FunGooner and nicoll5 both pointed out, ‘losing out’ on Higuain isn’t really that bad..just that we’re left short if Giroud gets injured( fitness is the keyword for us this season)
Anicoll- you forget Monreal. I think no one knew of him until the last hour in January
As for Bendtner, he’s only 22 and if he gets it together, he can be one of the best
LikeLike
So, with Vermaelen back our CB problem, the position we were “desperately” short in (despite having Sagna as a very able back-up), has suddenly solved itself. Just imagine we would’ve bought a CB on the last day. The poor guy would’ve become 4th or 5th choice by the time internationals are over without even having warmed the bench for a competitive game.
LikeLike
“As for Bendtner, he’s only 22 and if he gets it together, he can be one of the best”
Nick will be 26 years old on the 16th January 2014
Admittedly as he has played very little football indeed over the past four seasons he probably has the body of a 22 year old, he is also now almost a year younger than Drogba was when he first signed Chelsea.
So plenty of time son – if you make the EFFORT
LikeLike
Sorry, not so good with numbers
ha
Rosicky’s 29 year old football-wise line come to mind?
LikeLike
TV is back. Serge had a very impressive u-21 game by all accounts. Ryo less so, fluffed his lines a bit, but the full fitness returning. Frimpong is close, looked good they say, getting fit, and probably ready if needed. Jack and Aaron are fine, Theo too, maybe a niggle, a bit tired. Ozil has arrived and raring to go if needed after a good week. Olivier is fine. Santi is fine. Sagna is fine, Gibbs is fine. Per is fine. Kos is fine. Chewie is fine. Jenks is fine. Arsene is fine. It’s Friday, I’m fine. Tomorrow we shall see.
GO’ARSENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
Flamini is fine.
LikeLike
I wonder if Serge will get a run out tomorrow from the bench, if Theo is knackered.
I wonder if Flamini will start … to fight a bit of fire with fire, if Jack is knackered (probably not). I wonder if AW will start Mesut right off, and push Santi left. I wonder if NB will make the bench.
LikeLike
Good lord, there was me agreeing with a fellow who had made a ghastly mistake. I would have agreed with BooTooHim if he had made the correct interpretation but he didn’t so I don’t or rather I do but not about the bit he didn’t interpret correctly. But I would have agreed with his comments if he had interpreted that piece of Varun’s piece correctly that is to say in a different way to the way he in fact did interpret it.
Anyway it was a good article and I am looking forward to the football tomorrow.
LikeLike
I do like the idea of NB on the bench tomorrow. Makes a strange sort of sense. Always liked him even though he can be a bit of a silly billy.
LikeLike
‘Certainly next week and at the latest the week after…’ for NB. So maybe tomorrow
LikeLike
What I’ve also liked about this summer is that we haven’t thrown a lot of money at adding depth into the squad and used freebies and loans instead. Some fans would have liked nothing more than see us fritter away the fee of another Özil on players like Begovic, Ashley Williams and Cabaye for the sake of a marginally stronger bench. Not me. That would be a poor use of our limited funds and I would rather ‘make do’ for a time and have that money there for when genuine top, top, super, top, super quality comes onto the market as Özil did, in the confidence we will be able to attract and afford the very best. The notion that the best way to strengthen the team is to exhaust your funds each summer on whatever is available is laughable.
There will always be room for quality additions in that £10m bracket, such as Arteta, Kosciely or Mertesacker, when they come along, but with individuals of that calibre already at the club we are now looking to add players who will be even better. An almost impossible task, and one which is unlikely to be achieved cheaply.
LikeLike
@ LeoS September 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm
“What I’ve also liked about this summer is that we haven’t thrown a lot of money at adding depth into the squad and used freebies and loans instead.”
Excellent point. Flamini as a loan signing in midfield is genius. We’re getting a better player than the Flamini that left. Serendipitous timing.
LikeLike
Can’t wait for tomorrow. I am soooooooooooo excited.
LikeLike
And just to burst my bubble, I now read that both Merts and Ozil are ill.
LikeLike
Whaaaaat
LikeLike
Look i dont want to be negative but tomorrow has ‘upset’ written all over it…..i predict a draw…at best…… things have been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too nice lately…we need controversy…
jinx on the jinx times v
LikeLike
….this is all Levy’s doing
LikeLike
haha…
LikeLike
Naaaah…we will beat Sunderland
LikeLike
Bacary will lead us to glory from the centre at the back. Man on a mission.Sorry, according to his comments….old man on a mission.
LikeLike
I fancy Kieran scoring tomorrow maybe overlapping with Nacho down the left in the latter part of the game, and I just can’t see Olivier not scoring.
LikeLike
Jenks played well against the spuds so him and sags should do just fine Ozil travelled with the squad so should be on the bench. NB52 returning will either be the new stick to beat ARSENE with or the biggest return of a prodigal son since well you know when. Basically the media soap of the TW is over and now its just about results and for us of course Wengerball so lets enjoy tomorrow whoever pulls on the famous red and white shirt
LikeLike
After all it is entirely possible that some of the Make Them players are feeling poorly too.
LikeLike
What did George and Positively Arsenal do that other bloggers are questioning the role of this blog? Did PA ever make any pretense about where its loyalties lie? Firmly behind the one of the club’s greatest ever manager, never in the safe middle of the road, and enemy of the WOBs and mindless critics. As we know George is never afraid to expose monumentally stupidity. So who is looking stupid now!
LikeLike
Shotta they’ve been reading too much into “Freud for dummies”.
Many of us came here because we were told that we are deluded for supporting the club. And we were told that we were never critical even though there is plenty and plenty of evidence for the contrary. That last bit was disturbing. Eerie.
So, when you invent a bipolar “debate” (see what I did there, clever eh?) I guess you have to keep it going when it blows up in your face! Keep that glass chin up.
–
Desigunner has made many chumps look like chumps. He can be critical when he wants but bizarrely he never makes up rubbish in order to support his words and neither does he ever pretend that his thoughts are The Truth*. And he didn’t post a single blog during the entire Window. Smart lad.
It’s fair to say that has more grace and dignity then others.
*I believe he underestimated the impact a callow and inexperienced midfield, there for reasons we understand, had for a few seasons but that’s another matter.
LikeLike
< then some others
LikeLike
Resolute against those who would destroy this club
Through their stupidity, malice, ignorance
And those who are relentless seekers of attention – begone
But the worst of all are the ‘intelligent’
Weasel words, fickle wordsmith, spines less solid than an immature jelly fish
LikeLike
Who do you have in mind Anicoll?
LikeLike
someone somewhere must be sitting on 60,00 black binliners del and Rodney watch out
LikeLike
Well George I have never been a prolific reader much less a contributor to the digital universe
One or two sites – never more
LikeLike
Speaking of the world however I have read today that young Nick has presented in shocking physical condition – porky – unfit in tone extreme
I never heard any comments about this a few weeks back
I have not seen any shots of our Prince of the Dames recently – this week however he was not involved with Denmark
Anyone the wiser ?
LikeLike