A Myth is quite simply “a widely held but false belief or idea.”
Positivistas, how many of you, like me, first daily instinct during the transfer window is to reach for whatever internet device is at hand to check if there is any new transfer story affecting our great club? Yup, I see many of you shaking your heads in agreement. But I know there is an unrepentant few who are reacting with disgust to such heresy, appalled that there is a majority who weakly submit to the twice yearly season of rumor-mongering, click-baiting and outright lying by all segments of the sporting media.
Despite my admiration for those of us who can resist the temptation to not religiously scan twitter and the lying mainstream media for transfer news, the fact is the buying and selling of players has a powerful hold over many supporters and cannot be ignored. Even yours truly was briefly caught-up in the madness last weekend after EuroSport-France proclaimed boldly that Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez decides to join Arsenal, €50m move close. So much so I became a member of scouting twitterati hanging onto every ball Mahrez kicked in Leicester’s friendly with Celtics that Saturday morning (EST). Predictably, nothing came of the transfer. Less than one-week later it became apparent this was a big con-job by either Mahrez or his agent to get a big wage increase from Leicester, using the same leverage as his team-mate Jaime Vardy; i.e. being publicly linked with Arsenal. Lesson learnt anybody?
So why does transfers have such a big hold on our thinking despite clear and repetitive evidence that transfers are no guarantee to footballing success? Is it because the facts are not compelling? How more compelling can that major 2013 study by Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence for the Arsenal Supporters Trust, of all the people, when he provided 13 years of data to come to the conclusion that:
“Wenger is telling the truth when he speaks, often, about wanting value in the transfer market, and wanting to buy players when they are better than he already has. Because he knows, from that 2005-06 season, and from the following season and a few others, that all business is not necessarily good business. And too much business can have a negative impact on the team, if selection becomes too ‘unstable’, which we can show, in a general sense, for Arsenal and key rivals, is a bad thing.”
He ranked the ‘big six’ in the Premier League in order of their total net spending on transfers plus wages combined between 2000 and 2012 over the 13 years in question. Chelsea spent most, with £2.078 billion, then Man Utd on £1.43bn, then City with £1.4bn, then Liverpool with £1.3bn then Arsenal with £1.1bn and Spurs on £777 million.
Chelsea did not do better than their resources in any year, under-performing against their wage bill eight times and doing only as well as expected four times.
United did better seven times, worse three times and as well as expected twice.
Manchester City performed better once: when finishing ninth in 2002-03 when wages said they should have finished 10th. They have otherwise under-performed apart from the title-winning season when they did as well as expected.
Liverpool did better than expected four times in the period, worse four times and as expected four times.
ARSENAL out-performed their wage spending seven times, did as well as expected three times, and under-performed in 2005-06 and 2006-07. We’ll come back to that – but it’s better than any rival.
Tottenham did better than their wage bill six times – and worse six times, in the period under review.
Nothing since 2013 in the PL has changed from my observation. To the contrary Harris’ findings have been reinforced by the dramatic results of the last season. At the end of the 2015 summer window the following was the top-ranking spenders vs eventual league position:
| CLUB | £MILLION | POSITION |
| Man City | 88.06 | 3rd |
| Liverpool | 77.02 | 8th |
| Man United | 68.95 | 5th |
| Villa | 45.43 | 20th |
| Chelsea | 40.60 | 10th |
| Newcastle | 39.80 | 18th |
| Southampton | 23.80 | 6th |
| West Brom | 22.75 | 15th |
| Leicester | 21.84 | 1st |
| Crystal Palace | 16.73 | 14th |
| Arsenal | 9.80 | 2nd |
Despite Leicester breaking conventional wisdom and proving that one can win the League without breaking transfer records, the usual suspects have been screaming murder and throwing childish tantrums because Ivan Gazidis recently used two major media opportunities to pour cold-water on expectations that the club will “show ambition” in the transfer market. The latest was an interview with no less than the New York Times when he stated:
“We would not be successful if we simply went out into the transfer market and tried to outgun our competitors. We’re run in a self-sustaining way, and a way that we believe in, because we believe it gives us certainty for the future, and enables us to plan our future with confidence. That means we can’t afford to make huge mistakes in the transfer market. We can’t afford to outgun competitors that have far more money to splurge on transfer fees than we do. So we have to be very careful, very selective about how we do things.”
My fellow blogger and friend Stew Black has dismissed this statement as simply “public relations” but I would suggest that for the CEO of the club to make similar statements within a week to both ESPN and the Times, major media outlets in their own right, is a significant message to the fans and other key constituencies. Gazidis was fully aware that there was a major kerfuffle after his initial round of cold water. Even Wenger was forced to comment after the Lens game that the CEO was not ruling out a big transfer if the right player became available. Less than one week later Gazidis repeated the same mantra almost word for word. Outside of Stan this is the voice of the Board of Directors, we ignore him at our peril.
So despite the compelling weight of facts and figures and the admonishments of the CEO, bloggers and tweeters continue to believe that the club is showing no ambition or that Wenger is dithering in the transfer market. It would seem to me that if the club does not find the right player, many are in for a rude awakening.
Sooner or later myths must confront reality.
Positively Arsenal 
reports that Julio Pleguezuelo is off to Mallorca on a season loan.
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Mathieu Flamini’s career looks like it is going to be
Marseille
Arsenal
AC Milan
Arsenal
Marseille
as reports in France are that he is about to sign for Marseille again. Free Transfer of course.
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Arsenal doing their head photo shots today.
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Thx for the link to the jonker interview ed. Here’s one from bielik on his own progress at arsenal. I’m still surprised he calls the manager by first name.
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/interview-krystian-bielik-im-not-pressuring-myself-my-time-will-come-when-arsene-says-so
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Very good and sensible observation and consideration on Theo Eddy.
If he has made a decent recovery from that big injury and if there was a crowd to play to it could be the inverse for him on the pitch. A release. It still can be.
But with so many audible Groaners it seems natural for him to have a natural reaction and retreat more into a shell instead of the opposite. Even when he was in peak form and fitness providing goals for RVP and Giroud in his first season a friend said that Walcott’s biggest issue was his own confidence and I have come to accept that, because his technique is good enough for us to appreciate it’s as good if not better then the current England striker who missed an easier one on one chance at the Euro’s then any that walcott’s missed in pre-season.
We shall see.
I bet you all that Roy Hodgson did not enjoy watching Chambo in such form, there’s a coach and manager who knew what a prospect the talent is. And Big Sam is not as big an expert as the online Arsenal Experts, a fit Chamberlain will be a key player for him as he was for Hodgson, i just hope he doesn’t overload him in the upcoming friendlies and other games. I also expect Allerdici to release Wilshere further forward, thanks be to the football gods. Softly softly gently gently with the English Arsenal gems big Sam, please, they don’t get enough protection from the MOB, as he knows, hopefully that’ll be an obvious consideration.
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As for Theo I got all the time for him. If not him we would have missed out on champions league few years back. And we would probably be in a different position today as club. Sad to hear about his family.
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may be nothing but odds on marhez to arsenal went from 4/9 to 2/1 in space of a few hours this morning, with large amounts placed, and then betting was suspended.
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you know the old soundbite that this or that club made the price of a transfer back on shirt sales, well the club with the highest world wide shirt sales last season was Barcelona, and they sold 3,367,000 shirts. With only a fraction of the selling price actually going to the club. The best selling BPL club was Chelsea with 3,102,000. Man Utd 2,977,000, Arsenal 2,055,000. So next time you hear someone in the media like talksport did today say Man Utd have already sold 70M Zlatan shirts, take it for the total bollocks it is. Just as the Asano deal is for the shirt sales. Its all ill informed rubbish, with no basis in fact or reality.
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on shirt sales, some reports which include details from the shirt manufacturers have the total shirt sales well down on the figures I mentioned. For example Adiddas say the sold 1.7m man utd shirts. Either way, the fact remains that there is no possible way a club will cover the cost of any big money signing from shirt sales, in fact they could not cover the cost of a small money signing, when you take players wages etc into account.
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I certainly see no reason why Matt Flamini should pack it in. He may not be fast enough or fit enough for atop 4 team but he reads the game well, is highly experienced and gets the occasional important goal. He has also managed to curb his constant yellow card count.
Even if he only turned out 15-20 games a season for Marseilles they have got themselves a bargain.
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it always surprises me how many players pack in the game rather than drop down the divisions or go to easier league. Especially when you hear so many ex players state their regrets at stopping playing as soon as they did.
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Lacazette has asked to leave Lyon. Been confirmed by the Lyon club president, who added that Lyon will try and convince him to stay, as he is vital to them.
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Kelechi Nwakali @Kelechi_nwakali 24m24 minutes ago
Training finished today in London Colney @Arsenal
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4 weeks today the summer transfer window closes, and then fans, supporters, journos, pundits, bloggers, twitteratti, twittertwatti and everyone else interested in the game, can concentrate on what is the most important thing, after all we will already be 2 games into the BPL season, the January transfer window.
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Nigeria Wonderkid Kelechi Nwakali Now An Arsenal Player, Pens Five-Year Deal
Published: August 03, 2016
Nigeria Wonderkid Kelechi Nwakali Now An Arsenal Player, Pens Five-Year DealNigeria U20s skipper Kelechi Nwakali is now officially a player of Arsenal pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and work permit.
The CEO of ASJ Academy, Emeka Amajiriaku, has confirmed that his former pupil appended his signature to a five-year deal with the Emirates outfit on Wednesday afternoon.
“Kelechi has signed with Arsenal, it is now a done deal. He signed the contract 3 pm today (Wednesday), ” Amajiriaku told allnigeriasoccer.com.
“His mother and brother Allwell were there. Manchester City loanee Chidiebere Nwakali came all the way from Norway to London to witness his brother signing the contract. ”
Kelechi Nwakali was first linked with a move to Arsenal in December 2015 after starring for the Nigeria U17s at the World Cup.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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With all the excitement of Rob Holding’s arrival and whether Chambers will or won’t be sent on a loan (which would seem wrong to me) I’ve rather lost track of Gabriel. Is he fit and well?
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2 games in with 6 points and a plus 5 goals difference
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Gabby out with a virus, so in this shortened pre-season (for all clubs), so that’s messed up his pre-season. he’ll have to play this weekend but he still might be short for the opener?
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Thanks Fins: it would be nice to see him develop into a real hero for the club. And thanks too for the update on Theo. Form, or lack of it, for a top-level player is such a mystery. Nursing him back would be a real testament to the coaching staff. At his best he is unplayable: unfortunately I guess the same is true when at his worst.
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Well FH when the player who scored a late winning goal for a football club in an FA cup final after having been two goals down is still a scapegoat (Ramsey) I’m afraid there are no more heroes for these football Experts. Save for their own reflections. Of course.
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i see that not only the media, but arsenal blogs and twittertwatti are spouting the nonsense that Alexis and Ramsey are being “rushed” back early to training, when in fact Alexis got extra time off, he and Ospina finished at the Copa America one day apart, and Ospina was back in time for the USA tour. Ramsey is back with Arsenal, at the same time as the rest of the Welsh squad are back with their clubs. To think that some still say there is not agenda
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Looks like Szczesny is back with Roma for the season. Conflicting reports as to the inclusion of a buy out clause. Some reports say £13M buyout clause, others say AFC refused to include any buy clause.
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Daniel Ballard signs as scholar
Young defender Daniel Ballard has signed scholarship forms with the club.
The 16 year-old came through our Hale End academy. He becomes the 11th member of our 2016/17 scholarship intake.
We’d like to wish Daniel well as he continues his progression with the club.
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
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Durban U19 Tournament semi final is on at the moment. Arsenal v TP Mazembe
Keto back in goal.
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 56s57 seconds ago
39′ Score Update: @Arsenal 1-0 @TPMazembe #DurbanU19
think it was Donyel Malen with the goal
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Kelechi Nwakali @Kelechi_nwakali 6m6 minutes ago
I am officially an @Arsenal player.Thanks to God and my family and friends.Hard work starts now!
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 2m2 minutes ago
HALF TIME: @Arsenal 1- 0 @TPMazembe #DurbanU19
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What are the odds that we’ll see the same small clique complaining about afc signing the above player or bringing through Iwobi in the first team, in the same breath that they criticise the club for not signing Musa?
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http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160804/alexis-and-ramsey-return-to-training?
Alexis and Ramsey in the training photos, as is Maitland-Niles, and Gabriel.
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but finsbury, Arsenal have only signed Xhaka, do you not know Asano, Holding and Nwakali don’t actually count, for a variety of reasons, such as “don’t know who they are”, “they cost small fees”, “coming from weak leagues”, wouldn’t it be fun if these kind of fans would just be honest as admit “I only watch BPL and CL”, “I only want big money, big name signings”, “I’m a football snob, and could not be arsed to educate myself about players, teams, or leagues, outside of BPL and CL” and “I want to win a dick swinging transfer window competition”
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great to see Ainsley Maitland-Niles back in first team training, really have high hopes for the lad, that is if his mother stops throwing spanners in the works. He is a huge talent. RW, CM, CAM, he can play the lot. He turns 19 later this month, and he played 32 games for Ipswich last season, and they want him back on loan this season too.
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it will be interesting to see how Arsenal cope in the new revamped reserve league, it has gone from u21 to u23. Arsenal seem keen to loan out a lot of our best youths, and with Julio Pleguezuelo and Jon Toral both gone on loan to Spanish clubs, and with Tafari Moore and Stefan O’Connor looking like they are joining Dutch clubs, as is Glen Kamara, we have also loaned out Ryan Huddart, it leaves Arsenal looking a bit light weight at the back and maybe in cm too.
Of course we may decide to utilize more of our non playing senior squad and give them game time in the reserves, and so we could see Martinez in goal, Holding, Chambers and Bielik in defense, Gnabry, Asano, Akpom, Iwobi, and Sanogo all helping give the team more strength and ability in midfield and attack.
A lot might depend on who and how many more we loan out.
Arsenal put in a lot of effort last season to gain promotion to the top division of the u21’s, so i’m sure they will not give that status up without a fight.
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 2m2 minutes ago
74′ Penalty for @Arsenal and Nketiah makes it count @Arsenal 2-0 @TPMazembe #DurbanU19
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Alexis, Ramsey and Gabriel included in the squad for the Viking and Man City games
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 2m2 minutes ago
83′ @Arsenal means business! Mavididi secures a third goal for the Gunners #DurbanU19
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wilshere not in the squad
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AFC confirm that Ozil, Koscielny and Giroud will return to training next week.
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Arsenal U19’s will play the South African U19’s in the Durban U19 Tournament final
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Szczesny back to Roma on a season long loan has been confirmed.
reports in Turkey say Arsenal and Galatasary have agreed to a season long loan of Debuchy.
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Debuchy still hanging on in there, is Jenkinson still far away from a recovery?
Does Arsene hold onto him until Christmas. As RB rival to Bellerin he would be adequate.
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I think that we might let Debuchy go, and have Chambers as cover for Bellerin, we could also use Coquelin as rb cover
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Serge Gnabry scored a fine goal for Germany v Mexico tonight
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FT: Mexico 2-2 Germany
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Bayern Munich’s David Alaba when asked who was the best players he has faced said, Ronaldo, Messi and Theo Walcott. I remember Pep saying Theo was the biggest danger when Peps Barcelona faced AFC in the CL, but oddly the malcontents say Walcott is stealing a living and has no ability.
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seemingly Gnabry was Germany’s man of the match tonight, he came on as a first half sub, and scored their first equalizer and won the corner that they got their second equalizer from. He also had many other fine bits of attacking play.
oh how he was wasted at wba last season, pulis would not know a talent if he tripped across it.
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Not just Pep and Alaba who were impressed with Theo , Eduardo
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8323992/Arsenal-v-Barcelona-Lionel-Messi-admits-Spaniards-are-scared-of-Theo-Walcotts-pace-in-Champions-League.html
But heh……what do Pep ,Messi and Alaba know when pitted against the amassed football brain that is the WOB
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Isn’t that report 5.5 years old?
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They obviously knew what they were talking about, given the number of times Theo’s helped us get past them …
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