By: Shotta, @shotta_gooner
Bloody hell. “Arsenal’s transfer policy has been too weak – they need to get ruthless” was the headline in a recent edition of The Daily Telegraph, supposedly one of England’s last remaining “respectable” broadsheets.
From the get-go it seems the newspaper and their hack had lost sight of their role as impartial purveyors of football news and had instead become agents for both Liverpool and Chelsea football clubs, trying to persuade Arsenal to pay good money for Raheem Sterling and Petr Ccech . Not only is Sterling good for $20 million, at least, but AFC should chuck Theo in the deal as a bonus, said the journo. Apparently Sterling, with a grand total of 7 goals and 7 assists in the Premier league this season, is vastly superior to Walcott, who in 2013-14, his last full season, racked up a mere 14 goals and 10 assists in the League. What are they smoking over at the Telegraph?
According to the writer, one Jason Burt, Arsenal is so close to winning the Premier League next season, it shouldn’t be satisfied with spending puny sums like £40 milion plus One, rather it should start chucking £50-55 million at players of similar caliber as Luis Suarez. I suspect the hack and his editor believes their thesis will find traction, given the seeming success of Chelsea and City in spending their way to success.
But as usual they seek to deceive us, cherry picking the data to serve their own opinions. As Sporting Intelligence, in a study for the AST in 2013 demonstrated, net cash transfer spend between 2000 and 2012 was not a true measure of success:
Chelsea: £570M
Manchester City: £523M
Liverpool: £268M
Manchester United: £206M
Tottenham: £157M
Arsenal: £37M
If net transfer spend was a valid measure then United should never have won seven titles over the same period, much less Arsenal with two titles. In contrast Liverpool have zero titles to show for their efforts despite substantially outspending United and making Arsenal’s net spend look like small potatoes. Even more abject is Tottenham who have blown a shed-load of money, well in excess of AFC, but in 17 years have never managed to come above the gunners. Surely both Tottenham and the Scousers have shown no fear in the transfer market.
Yet Mr. Burt opines that “now is the time for Arsenal to be bold, to be ruthless and to be aggressive in a way that other clubs, such as Manchester City and United, and Chelsea …. have been aggressive towards them in the past.” Clearly the insinuation is that players from the other three are superior to Arsenal’s. Consistent with this logic, the gunners should roll over and buy Cech as the article recommends. But why stop at the goalkeeper. Surely Lampard, Drogba et al, should be on Arsenal’s shopping list.
Or Arsenal should be ruthless and aggressive like United who, after falling to 7th place last year, decided to go on a spending spree last summer. They amassed £170 million in transfers for the likes of DiMaria, Rojo, Blind, Shaw, Herrera and Falcao on loan. The end result is likely to be fourth position, attaining the once-scorned Wenger trophy which is the final ticket to champion’s league football. This is after United effectively competed in only one competition, the BPL, while Arsenal had to also battle in the champion’s league and FA cup. Surely this underwhelming league position vs transfers is another indicator there is something to Sporting Intelligence’s conclusion that transfer spending is not a good barometer of success.
In fact the newspaper and their hack conveniently ignored historical evidence showing Arsene Wenger consistently out-performed the big–three without having to outspend them. Unlike the Telegraph, this blog will state what is well known, that there is a strong correlation relationship between spending on wages and league position. Simply put, by combining big money on wages with big transfers, the biggest clubs attract the best talent who quite often offer a competitive edge. But despite the handicap of not having similar resources to splurge on a combination of transfers and wages, Wenger has outperformed Chelsea, City and United. Since 2001:
1. PL Runners-up in 2001, and FA Cup final
2. PL and FA-cup Double in 2002
3. PL runners-up in 2003 and FA Cup winners
4. Invincible PL winners in 2003-04 and two Cup semi-finals
5. PL runners-up and FA Cup winners in 2005
6. PL 4th in 2006 and Champions League finalists
7. PL 4th in 2007 and League Cup finalists
8. PL 3rd in 2008
9. PL 4th in 2009
10. PL 3rd in 2010
11. PL 4th in 2011and League Cup finalists and loss to eventual CL winners Barca
12. PL 3rd in 2012
13. PL 4th in 2013 and CL loss to eventual winners Bayern
14. PL 4th in 2014 and FA Cup winners
According to Sporting Intelligence, from 2001-13, Arsenal out-performed their wage spending seven times, did as well as expected three times, and under-performed in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The most interesting observation was despite reaching the champions league final in 2005-06, this was one of the most underperforming teams, in terms of league points because, it had the least team stability than any other season of the Wenger era.
(‘Team stability’ considers how many Premier League starts, combined, Wenger gave to his “core” XI players in that season, whoever they were. 2005-06 season was found to be the least ‘stable’, with only 64% of starting places going to “core” players. This is the lowest % of the Wenger years. In the Invincibles season the comparative figure was as high as 83%, similar to the 1998-99 season when Arsenal lost the title by a point to another of the era’s best-ever teams, United’s Treble winners.)
Perhaps the hacks, hell bent on promoting expensive transfers should pay some attention to the fact that a stable first XI is being constructed under their very noses. Few seem to give any significance to Wenger starting the same XI for the last 6 premier league games. After all, a story on stability is not as sexy as transfers, which is guaranteed to generate hits on the website as well as comments by transfer junkies and trolls. In the face of such mendacity, one must always remember that prior to the Invincible season Wenger bought only Lehman and Clichy, and the rest is history. This is a stunning affirmation of the importance of stability over transfers.
Who knows whether history will repeat itself in 2016?
Positively Arsenal 
Team news for Sunderland game – Koscielny a doubt with flu, Oxlade-chamberlain and Welbeck not ready yet, Debuchy will return to full training on Friday
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Shotta knows.
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Thanks George but nothing I wrote was very original. I simply did some research to unearth the facts that many people conveniently ignore to bolster their unfounded opinions.
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Lovely to see the facts presented instead of wild guesses and clichés dressed up as wisdom. Only one fault in the whole piece and that is the suggestion that the Telegraph is ” supposedly one of England’s last remaining “respectable” broadsheets” when it is in fact merely a leaflet produced for and on behalf of the central office of the Conservative party. A disgusting lying rag I wouldn’t use to wipe dogshit off a child’s plate.
Otherwise perfect. Thanks Shotts.
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talking about journos, has anyone noticed that since Amy Lawerence has got a regular gig on BBC she has become very negative towards towards Arsenal, what is it with our lot in the media that they go this way, look how ex players, pundits and journos of the likes of utd, cfc and lfc back their mobs to the hilt regardless of the subject matter or the evidence, but our lot go with the agenda and by and large have a pop at Arsenal.
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Good stuff Shotts. The piece got me thinking, as the transfer window looms out of the jungle consuming fans like a deranged King Kong, how much stuff is published about alleged signings and departures, and almost nothing these days written about young players at clubs, on the fringe of selection, usually U21’s for their respective nations, and coming through into the first team.
Looking at the ravings of Mr Burt above there is no mention of Coquelin ? Why not – one of our most influential players this season, potentially one of the most influential of all PL platers this season, and he was on the books already. Hector Bellerin ? Nothing. Could this have anything to do with the fact that there were no fabulous £$££££££ figures involved ?
And looking elsewhere Take this morning. Acres of news print on Sterling and Milner. Milner ffs – the has been who never was. Not a mention about any young or developing player e.g. the three Chelsea youngsters who played last night. Not a single mention this week have I seen of the Mancs U21’s who won the U21s who won the PL competition for the age group. Not one name.
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eduardo
Its quite simple. Arsenal are different. They will never be as unsuccessful as LFC or tottenham in modern era, nor are they as successfull as the finanacially dominant ones. We run in between. Ever hoping for me, happy not to have less. As a result we are easy targets for criticism, as more is expected from as we continoulsy benefit from enhanced revenues, such as increased stadium capacity as well as biggest ticket prices, coupled with ever increasing TV deals (set to recieve a massive boost with BT deal for UCL coming into play)
And there as a fan base, simply the most divisive. Any opinion will supported and derided by opposite halfs of the fanbase. Easy clickbait, and easy topics to talk about arsenal.
Of course it will be swept away when we win the league.
In regards to ‘Arsenal need to be more aggressive’. I guess its still in the back of their minds that we rather place faith in players who let us down rather than instantly replace. its a great and horrible quality to have. IT will work with players like ramsey, but not with players like bentner, taking up wages and a squad place. Hopefully we get what we need as the finishing line is so close, only one more summer is needed.
I cant imagine Wenger not going for it in the next two years, considering these seem likely to be his last
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Absolutely horrendous grammar, I hate touch screen phones
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Lovely stuff Shotta,just about sums it all up doesn’t it mate. Jason Berk more like..
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“Ever hoping for me, happy not to have less” There are the words of a very sensible fan.
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Shotta,.None of us say anything new about football. The best we can do is talk sense and be interestingly accurate. You do and are.
We can’t all be artists like Stew, if I could write like him I would be publishing 3 articles per day.
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I bring you the face of this season’s, and next season’s, opposition.
Horrible isn’t it ?
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look i can tell that most of you feel offended at the even mention of getting anyone let alone the names thrown around by media but they are not entirely wrong. We do need players. Either better ones or to supplement what is already there. Ok, we know Petr Cech is difficult because of the Chelsea rivlary and that portuguese translator. But a possibility like say Iker Casillas…who are we to scorn that? This guy has won everything multiple times and is still only 33 with declared interest to play in the epl one day. He is not some finished mug. The n.1 of Madrid since aged 17. A player who speaks highly of Wenger and Arsenal and vice versa. A friend of Ozil, Monreal and Cazorla. A winner- character who can teach others. A hot wife journalist to pull the strings at sky. Marketing and prestige for the club.
I read how we will have to change the system…well sorry but we are the masters of changing systems. We change system every month almost …heh. And if we can find a system for mertesaker and arteta then we can surely do same for even better players. And how exactly does the system change with Casillas in goal ?
Secondly, like in every team sport, spine is important. gk-dc-cm-fw. these four need to be BOSSES. Only Konscielny classifies as one.
Either we take our chances hoping that some of our players reach a status where they are world beaters which relies on a lot of uncontrolled factors, Or you use money to take that short cut and make a more secure selection. I am not saying that we should now start spending like City but i do recognise that in some positions we need genuine world class and not just potential. Players who take matters seriously. I love Giroud and you all know it. But he is no killer. It is not wrong to suggest that you need a killer forward to win big titles. Its logical. I also like and appreciate Monreal but a Jordi Alba he is not. Arteta is fine but a vidal he is not. Mertesaker is fine too but i want someone to be able to work alone and not having to sacrifice Konscielny and a right back and a dmf just to protect Per, because Konscielny is good with ball at feet and can push forward and get into scoring positions, plus we want our dmf to be so good that he can also be the first organiser instead of having to make cazorla pick up the ball from his centrebacks.
This is not to mar any of our players but its not nice to read ‘ whoever thinks we need x is a moron’ from the opened minded and non fascist gunners around. The same can be reversed and read as ‘whoever cant see we need QualityX in that position is also a moron’. So lets not be absolute..it leads to categorisation and ultimately fascism and an us vs them mentality. Sure the media and some fans come out as annoying prats urging us to buy this and that but surely we are all experienced enough to scan through the bs and at the same time recognise the need to improve
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If Aaron Ramsey isn’t a boss I’m a chicken.
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he is turning into one for sure, but he wants to be involved more forward.
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and to put it simple to you..because you are contrarian for the sake of it …someone who can do what santi and coq and ramsey does …one player .someone like vieira, redondo schweisteiger…is ramsey at that class/level yet? not really plus he is more attacking minded.
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Vieira could do what Santi does? Behave.
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yes he could and with more purpose and conviction. unless youre saying you dont remember vieiera charging through lines with dribbling..breaking banks of four…assisting , and shooting . plus vieiera would do 10 metrs in two giant steps while santi needs 20 little ones …plus vieiera could push people out the way whereas santi can not. with vieiera we won 3 epls ..with santi we have won one f.a cup…vieiera is cosnidered the player who redefined how modern defenive midfielder playmeaker/organiser should play ……….. since you want to compare…….
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Thanks Shotta. A perfectly timed article that cuts through the recent crap. supported by hard facts that demonstrates very clearly that although there is a high correlation to success, it is farcical that so called journalists come pundits are dishing out advice to Wenger about the transfer market. For me, it is a bit like a 1st year graduate student walking into one of Feynmann’s lectures and banging on about quantum theory. Hello ? Feynmann was the guy who wrote the notation for it.
What the article clearly demonstrates is that the economics of player selection and transfers is a tradecraft where Arsene is peerless. Don’t believe me ? Go and research any european club and I doubt you will find a single one that can match 18 years of champions league qualification, 8 major trophies, whilst almost breaking even in the transfer market. It is probably unheard of.
What is even more incredible is the idea that spending £££ will bring definite success. Of course, there can be, and probably is a high level of correlation between spending and success, providing you spend such a massive amount in comparison to your rivals, and you secure all the best players. The problem with this idea is that you need to have the economy of a small, normally oil producing country in order to do this, as one will get diminishing returns from every £100 million spend. Why ? Because not all managers have the peerless judgement of Wenger, and will happily be fleeced to fund their desperate cause of bringing in trophies for their fans, and advertise their own country/ feed their own ego, as appropriate. If recent events have not proven this, with the acquisitions of Di Maria, Mangala, Falcao etc etc, then the journalists that are supposed to be the conduit between us and the football world, are really just in showbiz and are clearly writing supportive drivel for the Sky/Murdoch train.
I look forward to seeing whatever Arsene does in the market, as I believe it will substantiate the narrative that we have all predicted, all along, Which is that the building of the stadium, the increased stadium revenue, the improved commercial deals, will eventually put us in a position that will take us closer to competing for top players. What pleases me most of all is that AW is at the helm, and not some weak willed or desperate tit who will go out and buy a player based on a crazy valuation.
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the fact you now use 2-3 players to do what one player did (vieira) probably escapes you…………………….
but no lets use 2-3 to protect the one and then change the system …makes more sense than getting the right player for the right position…surely……
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the fact you now use 2-3 players to do what one player did (vieira) probably escapes you…
What escapes you, is that that comment is a load of old bollocks
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no its not..its truthful..the job vieira did, you now need two or sometimes even 3 players. you need coqlin to block and santi to bring it out and/or ramsey to distribute…vieira could do all 2 or 3 jobs/roles singularly
no george…i dont talk bollocks….maybe sometimes, not today.
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what is bollocks is say… needing an iniesta type footballer and saying ‘its ok we have arteta, etc’ … the way you going , not even messi fits in our squad,.. should i behave ? lol……
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Cheers Shotta.
The pundits think Arsenal need a whole new spine GK-CB-DM-SK?
Odd then that a few half-fit players and squad cover players have managed to get nearly 2/3rd this season, eh?
We should be happy with the GK’s we’ve got – unless you believe the stats lie all the time. If Cech or Casillas want to come- at very low wages and as a mentor/coach then fine, but no way as 1st team choice with the recent record they both have of thunderously clanging mistakes they should be nowhere near a first choice for any high level team.
CB? come off it!! We’ve got Per, Kos and now Gabriel. Even if Per eases up a bit next season and has less game time, we will still have Chambers being taught the ropes and Debuchy and Monreal as cover. Do we need an expensive ornament sitting on the bench for the season with no chance of a game?(We are not Man City), we had Tommy V doing that for a whole season.
DM?, yeah because we have no one in the current squad who can do that job – and be a footballer at the same time, right? Steaming horse apples we don’t!! Changes may happen in the squad over the summer depending on contract renewals or extensions, if the Boss has an eye out for someone new to add, then a deal will be done. Far too many names have being doing the rounds, we all have our favourite candidates – but a new player won’t get much game time if Ox and Jack are still going to be looking for games.
SK? Will Theo stay with Arsenal? to my mind he’s a better investment option than Sterling. If we assume Podolski is going to find another club then there is a space for an additional striker, perhaps someone to complement Oliver Giroud’s many many skills and benefits he brings to the team. Again. I think the Boss knows what he wants, and he might visit the Copa America to find another Latino or look across the channel for a budget French player. Do I know? Hell no.
UEFA want to wash their hands of controlling FFP and will let City and PSG get back to their filthy cheating ways again.
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Superb, Shotta.
I might comment later. Meanwhile, here’s Arsene’s presser, with added transfer baiting, and his take on the relaxing of FFP:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pTGxELTOKpY
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There is no way Cech or Iker are 1st choice over our current batch of keepers please… they are in decline… 3 yrs ago even, yes, not now! Must we always buy? we can as it stands add to this squad without buying… of course if an Alexis or Ozil or Messi is in the market, why not?
Campbell, Akpom, Poldi, Wellington, Toral, Jenks, are all coming back from loan…. Ox, JW, Chambers, Gnabry, Walcott, Debuchy, Welbeck, Rosicky, have hardly had games, Many of these are available now, Zelalen and his crop are coming up…
There are options we presently have!
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‘of course if an Alexis or Ozil or Messi is in the market, why not?’
well casillas and cech happen to be like the messis and ozils of their respective position…. so why not get one of them if he is available and wants to come?
any reasonable person with an ounce of football memory knowledge experience will conclude that both of those keepers are perhaps better than anything we have ever had in the whole of the club’;s history, heh, not just ospina and woijech…
also i have mentioned it before …the call for such names ….is under the impression that Arsenal wants to win the big trophies NOW, not in 6 and 7 years time. If the impression is to win things sometime in the next decade then ok lets play woijech and cambell …why not?…..
me personally, if youre asking, im under the impression that Arsenal should come out all guns blazing and shut mouths and take revenge for many many incidents of the past decade. Revenge for Eduardo, Revenge for 06. Revenge for the old trafford game, Revenge for wenger’s 1,000th. Revenge for Busaca, Munich etc. If im alone then ok tell me early so i shut up ..lol…
Also we have two strategies…we either sit and wait for others to collapse to take charge of our cycle of dominance or we bring them down and install our cycle through willpower and personality and damaging them financially and psychologically.
We are obviously taking the first approach but that is only because we dont have Owners with cojones to take charge of the situation and clear the path to the success the club manager players and fans deserve.
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Cech and Iker WERE better, no doubt… but are getting old, are i decline… they cannot go one forever and certainly are not presently better than our current crop of keepers is the point being made. 2 yrs ago, WS! and Cech were joint clean sheet winners…
. recall. They are not fit to be our number one as they are in decline and past the prime is the point being made! Ours can only get better as they approach their prime!
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I think if I had to buy a ready-made goalkeeper to challenge our current ones it would be Asmir Begovich.
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first of all no need to get agitated we are just talking…you have your views, i have mine. thing is i am willing to approach it with questions while most of you get a bit agitated and your replies are absolute. Moving on…
did you hold van de saar as also being in decline or past his best when he joined manutd? has buffon lost any of his ability as goalkeeper just cause he is 36? or 37?
i just dont understand the absolutism…. ‘certainly not’ better than what we have? where is that based on?
do you usually put potential (ws) with proven winners (pc, ic) ?
i mean pirlo and xavi are old too…in decline ..past their best ..are fabregas and modric better than them too? imagine juventus saying ‘ no we dont want that 32 yearold past it has been andrea with the beard” ..or is juventus stupid to still pay buffon and pirlo?
what if a regenerated cech or casillas finds a new beggining and offers your team/our team another 3-4 years of top class service?
im just asking …. i did not say ‘ go and break the bank and bring us cech and iker no matter the cost’ ..all im saying is that if you have a genuine world class name/player who is willing to come and play for you, you should consider it seriously and not be absolute and/or dismissive and/or arrogant in thinking that what we have is more than enough…
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Thanks guys. Nuff respect to Muppet in particular who in the past did some analytical pieces on transfers at a certain other blog which some of us are familiar. As usual Muppet is better able to get to the core of the matter. Without Wenger’s brilliance in extracting value from the transfer market and from a relatively younger and less experienced squad than his peers, we would have been up shit street without a paddle especially during those barren years with the greater burden of paying for the stadium. How quickly many forget how close we came to a title in 2008 until Eduardo’s leg was broken in two at Birmingham. If Wenger had pulled that off with a group of kids against the financial might of Chelsea, United and Liverpool it would have been the greatest managerial achievement of the modern times.
The disappointments of coming so close and losing including two League Cup finals as well as the champions league in 2005 have clouded certain people’s judgment about Wenger’s genius. That is why today the end-of-an-eraists dare not repeat their premature conclusions. Yet Muppet was ridiculed for asserting the facts and standing by the inescapable conclusion that Wenger is still the man for the job. He doesn’t need the advise of hacks and pundits who care not one jot about the objective value of a potential transfer target.
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As Man U didnt get all possible help from the refs… anyway that does not mean Van der ser was not a great keeper.
Not at all agitated just used the caps to emphasis that i agree up to a point and then show where i veer off… Relax and keep the talk going.. An certainly not under the impression my thought will prevent AW from getting anyone he thinks will improve us.. he has bought older players before… Jens was no youth when he came into the club.
It does not always follow that all the older club legends will not make way for the next generation at some point. Keeping them on as Madrid has done with Iker is not same as doting our present upcoming No 1 for them. Xavi is getting more and more games as a sub… he can stay on and continue in that mentoring role of the next crop of players will is invaluable. Rosicky is quoted by one of our younger generation and having that type of influence in him… Gerard was offered a lower contract to stay on.. he could have been a legend and all…it clear he would get lesser play time.
we have a squad that’s settling down which is vital to our play, the fewer the disruptions the better for them is the point being made. WS is capable of matching the present Chelsea man for example. I feel his time out this second half of the season ought to have focused him more cos whatever he lacks is more mental than in physical ability. Ospina has not done badly either and such healthy competition is what is good in each position. A Cech or Iker coming in means one of these younger and improving keepers ave to go cos those ones are likely coming in for 1st choice else they would sit on the bench where they are cos i doubt we are likely to pay them more
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We all know and in spite of his vague responses that Arsene will be running the rule over players ( inside and outside the club) who he believes will improve the squad and the chances of us competing for trophies next season. That is what he DOES! I don’t have a problem with the notion that we could improve the squad. I don’t have a problem that any and every club could improve their squad.
The tricky bit is fixing just who, and in what positions.
Now that is where the manager of Arsenal football club leaves me a long way behind. Always has done, probably always will do.
We have had the downright strange signings – Silvestre for example. Frankly shocking. AW has had an occasional punt on young English talent, Richard Wright and the “Fox in the Box”, neither of whom were up to snuff as it turned out. If I could recall the South Korean strikers name I would put it in, but I cant. It began with Park.
Setting aside these odd deviations however AW has a massive positive balance in his market dealings. Just mow we have had two nuggets picked from the dung pile of Spanish greed ( Ozil and Sanchez). And Santi of course, picked up from a suddenly impecunious Gulf billionaire.
Two more diamonds stolen from under the nose of Manc rivals, (the Ox and Rambo). Or three with Danny the same. Jack was hatched from an Colney egg. Hector who Barca must be sick about missing, despite Hunter’s gurning over Jordi Alba. Kosc signed for the price of a good curry in Bingley. An who ever had HEARD of Monreal before he pulled on an Arsenal shirt ? Not me that is certain.
No, on balance, I shall not step in and I think I shall just leave it to the man.
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Anicoll
Don’t forget to add Gabriel to the boss’s under the radar workings, and add Ospina, Giroud, Jenks via (Charlton).
AFC PLC are still not in the business of doing our player dealings in the public arena.
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ok team spirit fair enough but still there some comments there that are pretty absolute. xavi has won everything..rosicky has not. when the ball weighs in tonnes…xavi is the one holding it and controlling it. that is not the case for tomas and arsenal. the gravity of xavi is on a different level to rosicky. and if you think i dont like rosicky maybe i can show my shirt of his when he was at dortmund and ready to take over the world. however im not going to dismiss the career path of xavi and the history he has left in the game. unlucky for tomas for sure and the injuries but in a critical situation of having to win a semi or a final you tell me to select one of the two ill go with xavi 10 times out off ten. gerrard is pants , not fit to be part of the discussion..heh..
i take your point about disruptions in the squad but we are simply talking of adding the one , two maximum three players who take you to the next level. i also cant agree with your assessment on courtois and woijech. dont how it looks to you but to me one is a serious person who keeps his head down and follows a low profile on/off pitch and the other is a noisy and sometimes annoying fool. Ospina i have no problems with at all. But i cant turn and say that he is better than Cech or Iker. no way. Plus i dont see what the problem is with wojo being 3rd goalkeeper. If he thinks he is better than 3rd choice he needs to prove it. big time. on the pitch. not with selfies.
++++++++++++
despite Hunter’s gurning over Jordi Alba
jordi alba is a left back and bellerin is a right back …bit off target 😉
there is no doubt wenger goes for the unearthed gems and the players that have escaped the big clubs and where he can extract value, a specialist and the one reason that made stadium move possible and workable and manageable …that dont mean they will all become xavier zanettis though…..
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Dammit Andrew. I thought you were very smart but I underestimate you, Sir.
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and WS is going to prove it on the bench as 3rd choice? therein lies the delinma. I did say his issues is in his head and have hopefully cleared up with this particular spell on the bench, his longest out of the team since he broke in. He will likely start next season as no 1 and with a chance to prove he has moved from potential especially if Ospina has extended Copa duties… the comment about Rosicky is that such players are kept on long after their full blast first team time cos they are assets even when not the first name on the team sheet… it was not to say that Rosicky is better than Xavi, – he is one of our own version of an elder player who may not be playing all games but still adds value to other players. Such players are better appreciated at the clubs where they shone earlier in their carriers…
Cech – more experience has won more, but getting older…Our own are approaching their own prime… this is the diff I keep emphasising… why we should still with our own… they are capable of reaching Cech level as early as this very next season!
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no not on the bench..first he will prove it in training, then to his teammates and managers and then to the rest of the world when he gets selected. the issues in the head are the most serious issues in mankind……….
sorry if it came out that way but no i was not trying to make a comparison of who between xavi and rosicky is better ..just to show that the experience and career path of xavi puts him on a considerable advantage in high pressure/ high profile games …simply put xavi has been in stages that tomas has not… xavi can explain to rakitic what to do/how to approach a semi …what can rosicky tell aaron or jack?
the thing with cech and ours is that if ours were ever deemed to be the future cech or the future neur shcmeichel van de sar whatever they would not cost 3 million and they wouldnt be as unstable as wojo.
and this is irrelevant to our discussion but my overview of the season. i did not like it. but i think i have been already angry and premeditated in my dislike since cesc went to chelsea…..i could sense it will come back to bite us unless our players..the ones wenger showed faith in..woudl reward him and not allow chelsea to win it like that. the first half of the season i was furious , furious with woijech, furious with mertesaker, i could not believe what was happening. i could not accept the excuses. then i said to myself ..second round …at least if we cant win it, lets punish chelsea. that didnt happen either. then monaco . that was ridiculous.. but i reserve my final assessment on the season for the f.a cup final. not that an f.a cup means much to me but i want to see them get on the pitch and make the game a non matter. 3 goals in first half and 1 more or two more in second half especially if the others decide to go for a glorious comeback. i would like to see ruthlesness and an attitude of champion to carry for next season.
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Well written, Shotta. Well done, Muppet, you should be more froward?
The AST paid for the article you quoted, but singularly, have completely ignored it.
As for Hunter, he is Hunter13!
There is another Hunter, who wrote a very good article on the Udinese v Arsenal game, in August of a certain year.
In August of that certain year, a scratch Xi, went up to play at Old Trafford on the Sunday, after the Udinese game. Check out the starting XI and the Bench.
Injuries and suspensions, disrupted the manager that particular month.
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Great piece Shotta,
George just where do you get your long list of incredible writers from, another season of wonderful prose.
The problem with list of wages etc however is its always difficult where to put the starting line remember manure have always been able to pay bigger wages and the arrival of the CL just exaggerated that. There is a direct correlation between spend and silverware obviously there is an exception to every rule which is why Arsene has a golden trophy sitting in our trophy cabinet.
A5, it is quite right there is no noise around the chelski 3 as they are not ARSENAL and the players are insignificant and will not command starting places especially if FFP is collapsing around platinis ears.
Hunter,
One of the reasons 89 was so special was not only because we waited so long and more than paid our dues but also because it was our team, a team we had watched grow, a team that had come together with youth players and league journeymen. They finally grew up a night in Anfield when we lost 2-1 in the league cup but were clapped off by the Liverpool crowd because of the fantastic performance, they returned to their greatest triumph. My point is I would rather achieve 4th place with OUR team than win the league with an eleven of other peoples players. There is nothing wrong with the Mezuts and Alexis of this world but each player coming in must feel like an ARSENAL player dedicated to us and combining with our youth players.
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“My point is I would rather achieve 4th place with OUR team than win the league with an eleven of other peoples players. There is nothing wrong with the Mesuts and Alexis of this world but each player coming in must feel like an ARSENAL player dedicated to us and combining with our youth players.”
Ian. I read their comments and suggest they write .You know, things like the above paragraph?
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Sky sports saying Sterling got booed at liverpools ceremony tonight
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Sterling won Liverpool’s young player of the year
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ex-Arsenal player Gio van Bronckhorst is the new Feyenoord manager
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The point is that if Xavi or the proposed cech and co do move from their parent club, it is not just to be adviser in the new club but likely to usuro and younger rising version… Xavi has more to offer in terms of experienced in practical situations but he will hardly move to arsenal at this stage of his career for that reason? he will likely stay back in barca and do just that for them is the point i am making…. If he is available by all means snap him up… its likely Barca are wise enough to keep him just like pirlo and Buffons clubs are doing with them… If Iker is not being kept by Madrid it is still something to do with a little loss of something as he ages… it does happen to the best of them! he does not deserve to usurp our own… let them make thier own marks.. records are set and can also be broken… WS and Ospina to combine to get the highest no of cleansheets next season! Translating to the EPL title of course…LOL. I see Fab and foster have the highest for now, and have teams both below 6th!
No matter how amazing you are in training, until you play the games on the pitch its not the same … Fab was always lauded as the best keeper at the club yet time and again he seemed to do one or two things wrong in real time… fans were nt too patient either… Allow WS to show his worth on the pitch… am sure he showed enough in training to get assigned th eNo 1 jersey in the first place… this spell on the bench ought to help him refocus or else to move on.. lets see how it goes.
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Excellent, well researched and well written – what journalism should be, but most of the professionals are a long way from being able to touch on what you’ve produced. Well done Shotta.
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anyone think that all these Cech/Casillas etc stories in the media is an attempt to unsettle our keepers for the cup final.
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Great piece, Shotta. Brilliantly articulated and rough reading for the Wenger Out cretins.
What escapes me is when people like Hunter choose to live in the past at the expense of evolution. Viera was a fantastic player but let’s not get carried away here. He was not doing much more than Ramsey and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Ramsey become a far greater legend than Viera. Gainsbourg is right about that lad the guy is magic.
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Great piece, Shotta, even if the numbers did make my eyes glaze over a bit, I’m afraid. It’s been long day.
“My point is I would rather achieve 4th place with OUR team than win the league with an eleven of other peoples players. There is nothing wrong with the Mesuts and Alexis of this world but each player coming in must feel like an ARSENAL player dedicated to us and combining with our youth players.”
Finally. Someone is able to express things that Hunter makes me too mad to articulate. So, I’m going to give it another go, to try to explain to Hunter and to everyone else.
I don’t care if we never win another PL title. There. I said it. If I cared about that, I’d support Chelsea. I have no historical connection to either club, so who cares, right? Just pick Chelsea instead, right? Here’s why I don’t do that: Arsenal mean something to me. The club, and its way of doing things, MEAN something. And that something isn’t to be the biggest bullies in the league, to destroy everyone on sight in some sort of macho rutting contest. What means something to me is to see a group of men work hard to achieve something. To weather the ups and downs together. To clearly care about each other and about their leader. A leader, (I’ll remind Hunter, who to his immense credit may be AW’s biggest fan) who sets this tone as the way he wants his football team to operate. Do I want to Arsenal to win the league? Of course I do! But I want it for them. Not for me. And that’s where I differ from many.
Yes, of course Hunter you are right. There are certainly better players out there than we have. There are better players in every single position. I can’t possibly argue that point with you. But I don’t love them. Of course the pundits say Arsenal need x,y, z players. They don’t care whether we get them or not. They aren’t attached to the team. They aren’t rooting for the team we have to pull together and achieve the very best that they can. I am. That’s the emotion of sport. That’s why I care about it. I hurt for them when they lose, and rejoice for them when they win. It’s not about me. That’s why I never get angry when we lose. Only sad.
We’ll buy players in the summer. We’ll lose players in the summer. I will mourn those who leave, and embrace those who come. But you will never, ever hear me say we should ditch a player we have for a better, flashier model. That’s not the way I see things. If you do…well, ok, that’s your way. You’re a better competitor than me. It’s a good thing I don’t run the club. But I wonder if you enjoy it like I do. If one little passing move that comes off in the midst of a game where nothing is going right can make you cheer and clap your hands. If seeing players and manager smile in training after a horribly disappointing weekend makes you feel everything is ok again. Or if you just want to string them all up until they perform to your exacting standards.
There. I’ve bared my soul…and it’s 3:00 in the morning in England, so no one is even going to read it. A shout into the void.
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Well put Shotta. There is nothing I can I add to your prose.
I rather like the discussion Hunter’s points have sparked. I understand Alabama’s position about moral high ground and I think Ian makes a good point about a team growing together.
But I also like Hunter’s point about destroying opposition like Mourinho’s Chelsea and all the the other cheats. I would like that very much. Arsene’s troops are getting there. I have faith the general will have them prepped for war next season.
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