“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
24 days to…the closing of the window.
Everything about the transfer window reminds me of the commercialization of Christmas:
• The countdown.
• The massive price inflation. This window last year’s 30 million pound player is now 40 million (25%), 20 million is now 30 million (50%), 10 million is 20 million(100%). It’s evident from those percentages that, like Christmas, the higher margin is on lower end product. Always the poor pay more, eh.
• The wall-to-wall media hype allied with the selling of massive amounts of expensive advertizing best exemplified by that 24-hour Jim White-SkySport frenzy on deadline day.
• The widescale brainwashing of football fans into believing that the only way owners and managers can show their love for the fans is by engaging in massive transfer spending. Arsenal fans are arguably under the most psychological pressure because Papa Wenger and Uncle Ivan refuse to join the madness, avoid the pressure to keep up with the Jones, by hardly ever spending a fortune during the summer transfer window.
Predictably Arsenal’s twitterati and the big bloggers are up in arms, defaming the club’s greatest ever manager for refusing to bend to the pressure to spend for spending sake. Many are like children at Christmas who can’t understand why Momma and Poppa refuse to buy them the most expensive plaything.
https://twitter.com/triplec1988/status/761578406119149568
The BBC tactic is to wheel out out an ex-player to attack the club’s transfer spending:
“The board and Wenger have let Arsenal fans down again”.
Brutal from Chris Sutton.
But a fair assessment…?https://t.co/TdBqtZLdkA
— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) August 1, 2016
On transfer inflation one tweeter dismissed the club’s prudence.
Benteke €46.5m
Firmino €41m
Son €30mOff the top of my head but ~€50m for Mahrez is overpriced?
— Doug Nichols (@TheTXI) August 1, 2016
This fellow has seemingly given up:
It’s become painfully clear that nobody has any clue what the hell The Arsenal are doing as far as transfers.
— Brian (@GunnerFaithful) July 29, 2016
One podcaster puts the boot in:
Surely Asano & Holding aren’t being counted as signings? For me we’ve signed Xhaka and thats it, and that’s not good enough @Arsenal
— Gimli (@GoonerGimli) July 19, 2016
To be fair not all of Arsenal twitter have given in to the pressure.
Wenger is an absolute fraud. How he bought Rob Holding for 2mill when Stones is going for 50mill is nothing but FRAUDULENT. 😂😂😂
— IslingtonGoonerAFC (@Born_a_gooner) August 1, 2016
We stayed in the CL despite financial difficulties since 04, been steadily improving last 3 seasons – 4,3,2 (2FA cups too). Why the moaning?
— Sahan Mendis (@theredandwhite1) July 30, 2016
Xhaka 34M in a market where Higuain goes for 75M. Don’t come at my boy Weng ever again.
— Tosí (@OzilAssist) July 29, 2016
” Wenger’s main summer signing each year since 2012 has been; Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech.
All remain key men”
— Common Tater (@RancidPotato) July 21, 2016
As usual it is the data which has the final say. Most of you readers are familiar with my mantra:
“Unlike the media [and Twitter], which thrives on emotion, in the silent statistical world, there are no headlines. There are no narratives. No excuses. No hope and no despair. Just data.”
I did my research and not surprisingly, it is Arsenal’s prudence and Arsene’s discipline in the transfer market which stands out like a shining light.
| Nett Spend 92/03 – 13/14 | Purchased Gross | Sold | Nett | Per Season |
| Manchester City | £1,145,480,000 | £316,903,000 | £828,577,000 | £33,143,080 |
| Chelsea | £1,195,199,000 | £484,125,000 | £711,074,000 | £28,442,960 |
| Manchester United | £922,950,000 | £435,490,000 | £487,460,000 | £19,498,400 |
| Liverpool | £917,805,000 | £539,300,000 | £378,505,000 | £15,140,200 |
| Middlesbrough | £237,910,000 | £57,680,000 | £180,230,000 | £7,209,200 |
| Arsenal | £587,365,000 | £407,674,000 | £179,691,000 | £7,187,640 |
| Tottenham | £686,700,000 | £525,167,500 | £161,532,500 | £6,461,300 |
| Sunderland | £327,745,000 | £170,580,000 | £157,165,000 | £6,286,600 |
| Stoke City | £149,065,000 | £47,630,000 | £101,435,000 | £4,057,400 |
| Crystal Palace | £156,760,000 | £59,990,000 | £96,770,000 | £3,870,800 |
| Everton | £349,045,500 | £254,586,000 | £94,459,500 | £3,778,380 |
| West Bromwich Albion | £178,650,000 | £86,376,501 | £92,273,499 | £3,690,940 |
| West Ham | £303,282,000 | £216,782,000 | £86,500,000 | £3,460,000 |
| Hull City | £108,445,000 | £57,680,000 | £50,765,000 | £2,030,600 |
| AFC Bournemouth | £78,085,000 | £28,595,000 | £49,490,000 | £1,979,600 |
| Leicester City | £123,895,000 | £94,195,000 | £29,700,000 | £1,188,000 |
| Watford | £89,345,000 | £60,000,000 | £29,345,000 | £1,173,800 |
| Swansea City | £99,427,500 | £87,560,000 | £11,867,500 | £474,700 |
| Southampton | £279,687,500 | £280,845,000 | -£1,157,500 | -£46,300 |
| Burnley | £53,300,000 | £87,560,000 | -£34,260,000 | -£1,370,400 |
Publicly available data on transfer spending demonstrate in no uncertain fashion that despite the billions spent by City and Chelsea with United and Liverpool breathing down their necks, none have had sustainable to success, unlike Arsenal. City came 4th last year and had to ditch their manager. Chelsea came 8th and has had three managers since last season. United continue to show ambition at a mouth-watering cost. None other than Fabio Capello was forced to remark:
‘They have spent €500million (£424m) in three years to win the FA Cup and twice they did not qualify for the Champions League,
‘Money is not always enough’.
Despite Liverpool’s willingness to spend whatever the market charged for average players (something Arseblog would no doubt approve) they have never won the Premier League in its 24 years of existence. This appetite for the transfer market doesn’t seem to have changed under Herr Klopp.
What was astonishing to me was how per season transfer spending club by Middlesborough exceeded Arsenal’s during the period under reference. This is the classic yo-yo club which enjoys a spell in the Prem only to be relegated to the Championship. I nearly fell out of my seat when it hit me that they have spent the last 10 years trying to get promoted.
What the data above ignores are the clubs whose owners spent lavishly, like Santa Claus, temporarily endearing themselves to the fans, only to conveniently fall out of sight out of mind to the bloggers and tweeters who demonize Wenger for not “showing ambition”. One such club is Aston Villa who between 92/93-13/14 were not afraid to spend.
| Purchased Gross | Sold | Nett | Per Season |
| $401,890,000.00 | $228,575,000.00 | $173,315,000.00 | $7,290,600.00 |
Despite their per season average spending also exceeding Arsenal’s, last campaign Villa was finally relegated to the Championship after two-three years of flirting with disaster. American billionaire owner Randy Lerner has had to sell out to the Chinese, after a reported 50% hit to his net worth. One wonders what he now thinks of the advice of the mainstream media and his many spendthrift managers who demanded he spend big every transfer window to strengthen the squad.
In closing let me remind you of something Arsene said about transfers recently:
“I buy players that I feel can strengthen our team. Today, you have to be very strong inside the club when you are responsible, not to just buy to buy.
“There is always a wave of opinions, and people are better informed today than all the players. They always tell you to buy but when you ask who to buy, they become much shorter, because if you look at the market in Europe there is a lot of money available, but not many players that really strengthen the teams.
“And if you look at who is spending the most in Europe, they are not the teams that won the leagues. The global investment of all the clubs around us didn’t stop Leicester winning the league. So we have to focus on our quality, and try to strengthen our team.
“If you analyse well our season, we finished top of the top-four. We lost maximum points against the teams between five and nine. Maybe the games we were expected to win, we did, but against teams like Southampton and Swansea, we dropped too many points.
“On the other hand, we had a good defensive record, overall, but we can still strengthen that. And we were a bit short of goals scored. We didn’t convert enough chances we created. We created the most in the league but our finishing was not as good as the season before.
“You say we should have won the league, but Leicester lost only three games during the season and won the league. You have to respect their performance. It’s not the name that wins the league, it’s the quality of the performances.”
I would advise well thinking fans to heed the words and deeds of Arsene and just like at Christmas, avoid the hype and psychological pressure. As most of us try teach our kids, in the words of Dr Seuss:
What if Christmas….doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
Positively Arsenal 
arsenal official twitter still having a nap
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Every word in the Stillman article expressed contempt for the club and everyone involved with it. If that is how a ‘fan’ feels then why waste his time, and waste everyone else’s time ?
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It’s pathetic the coverage this club gets …from the media and many so called Arsenal blogs.
At the risk of to stating the obvious, the knives are really out at the moment, they have been for a while of course, but something seems different this year, guess some small people scent blood or something. The media will only be too willing to follow the malcontents and haters.
Yes, Arsenal are up against it. A manager who wants to win, but also invokes virtue and principles, I am sure, at times, to his cost…..up against a perhaps a great coach, as well as win at all cost , chequebook managers, including one of the biggest cheats in the game. The odds may be stacked against Wenger, as are many individuals, but just get the feeling these are prime conditions to bring out the very best of our manager and his players. Wenger will be up for this one for so many reasons.
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Chambers and Bielik were at the u23 game tonight, nice to see them go to support the lads
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Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor were at the Arsenal u23 game tonight, it is thought that Ainsley Maitland-Niles is his prime target, but others like Zelalem and Willock might be of interest to him too
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anicol i just had a look at the bullshit piece by tim stillman, and one quote in it leaped out of it like a salmon jumping a waterfall
“It is what you learn after you know it all that really counts,”
ts advised walcott to take this to heart, when in fact its clear than the author should take the quote to heart, before he ever attempts to write another piece, as it seems he can see the splinter in others eyes but not the plank in his own, and the plank seems to be a thick one at that too.
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alex iwobi was at the u23 game tonight too
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Still working arggghhhh will send it in before 11.00 tomorrow!
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lets put everyone straight about the U23 game tonight away from the reading bias.
Firstly Reading lined up with a much bigger side and more experienced side so you would of thought they should of dominated play from the start but despite a young side and playing a midfielder at CB we were technically the better side.
Gedion produced the first shot on target after only 3 minutes and thinggs looked bright but reading got into there stride missing out the midfield going long from the back, after a knock down Matt Macey produced a good double save on 13 minutes.
This was a typical first game of the season with both sides making mistakes and looking rusty and only the reading midfieder Aaron Krul stainding out, as he did in the same fixture last year.
Ismael Bennacer went clear of the last defender and his cross was well defended just before Mavididi was about to tap in. Reading had a goal disallowed for offside on 32 before Maitland Niles and Chris Willock finished the half with shots straight at the keeper. It looked like Chris Willock picked up a slight knock early in the game and he wasn’t his usual self and was withdrawn early in the second half along with Gideon who seems to added physical pressence to his game. Mcguane and Kamara came on and interestingly kamara was almost instaintly involved in a test of the new rules as he smashed into Readings Novakovich and was booked but the reading no 9 was made to leave the field to get treatment and wasnt allowed back on straight away.
It was looking increasingly likely that the first goal would win the game and after an Arsenal attack Reading broke and Johnson lost the ball on the halfway line this resulted in another good Macey save however the ball span out to the right hand side where it was volled in well, it was a good goal but there was no brilliant play it was just a breakaway well finished. After Steve Gatting had been increasing vocal about the lack of Mavididi’s workrate he then proceeded to go past four players only to lose the ball to the keeper. Just after that the second goal came with a hopefull ball played into the area and the Reading sub Harry Cardwell tried an overhead kick which he sort of misshit and it totally through Macey. Reading have always produced physical young sides and this one was no different presenting Arsenal with several free kicks just outside the box all of them wasted by different players. For anyone who can remember the American footballer called the fridge many years ago well Reading have produced there own version in the shape of Danzil Gravenberch, a center back who is definetley a unit. Maitland Niles didnt have the best of games tonight although at times he was pushed much further forward than usual but overall for a first game the performance wasnt bad and we were certainly techniquely the better side. A special mention to Kostas Pileas who despite being one of the most inexperienced players on the pitch produced a solid performance.
Lesson being while reading might keep you better updated than Arsenal their reporting shouldn’t be trusted.
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well ian if Arsenal twitter feed had bothered their arse and actually done what they had claimed the would do, and put updates of the action up, then we would not have had the Reading view. This is not the first time they have acted so ineptly.
Arsenal boast about all the fans they have on the social media formats, and yet the fail to provide a service for these fans, that befits our club.
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that last post should have been to a_o_b, not ian.
how did Sheaf do at CB, jeorge bird praised him.
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Any ideas why Merson thinks the way he does about Wenger or the club these days? Is it personal…….him being a Chelsea fan…..contractual….?Something else?
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I have no idea why Merson thinks what he does Mandy and to be fair I am sure the man himself has only a very hazy idea.
Let’s face it – if he drank at your local pub he is the bloke you would avoid talking to. He’s a half wit.
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As I suspected last season’s appalling injury list has been airbrushed to allow for the ‘Arsenal were pathetic to only finish 2nd and of course everyone has strengthened now ‘ line to be peddled at will. But a whole season without Welbeck, Wilshere and Rosicky and half a season without Santi and Alexis and Oxlade was always going to place real strain on the squad. This is think was seriously compounded by the timing of Jack and Dat guys’ injuries which left scant time to find quality replacements. In the circs 2nd was a miracle. Xhaka and Elneny seem very strong replacements for Arteta and Flamini and Iwobi seems to have made Rosickys position his own so by my calculations that still suggests AW must be looking for someone to replace Welbeck. Whether we find anyone or not (and it’s easy to see why the Vardy bid was made) I think we are in a very strong place although of course it doesn’t suit the pundits to say so. But I reckon our players will be determined to settle a few scores this year and make a big statement.
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*coughs*
George I don’t think I’m an expert in I.T.
If it gets too late you can stash the post into an archive for later, once I manage to get it across to you…
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mandy it might cos wenger sold him to middlesborough and afc went on to win titles and cups, while merse drank and gambled away his money. then of course merse failed as a manager, so the old green eyed monster is in effect, and as you say he is a chelsea fan, and as big an idiot as he is, I’m sure he is smart enough to know that his job with sky will remain safe as long as he slags off all things arsenal.
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seemingly it has been confirmed in the match programme that our new captain is Per Mertesacker. Que the fake outrage from the malcontents, as he will be out injured for five months. We can expect Koscielny, Cech, and Cazorla to deputize for him while he is out.
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Tim Stillman is getting some stick I see.
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There has been just 13 Premier League starts by Arsenal’s captain in the last 3 seasons. Vermaelen and Arteta were captain in that time. Now per captain and he is out for 5 months.
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where george
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well I’ve seen Cech, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Cazorla, Ramsey, and Alexis all mentioned as ideal to be captain, odd thing is, that list has come from people who say our team has no leaders. go figure.
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Wenger says Koscielny, Cech and Cazorla will “take up the baton” whilst Mertesacker is injured.
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Per Mertesacker confirmed as out new captain
the natural choice according to Wenger
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160811/-our-new-captain-was-the-natural-choice-
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right guys our first league game of the season is tomorrow, how long in to the game can we expect the first groan from the crowd at one of our players, will it be a misplaced pass, a wayward shot, a miscontrol or will it be a sideways or backwards pass.
My bet is that it will take less than 10 minutes, and Ramsey the likely target. He might even get groans when team is announced. Its clear from what is being said on social media that the malcontents are fully intent on creating, as they like to put it, “a toxic atmosphere” at the Emirates. They clearly have no love for Arsenal, no interest in the team being successful, they want to be proved right,(after a decade of being proved totally wrong) they want social media fame, they want their images to be seen on tv and in the media, they want to be the ranting star of arsenal fan tv.
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more bad news re our central defensive position, going by BBC’s Football Focus, we can not play Rob Holding, as we have not signed him, our only signing this summer has been Granit Xhaka. No wonder the malcontents are unhappy, one signing, and the club pretending it has made 3 or 4.
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HT: Arsenal U18’s 3-0 Aston Villa U18’s
Da Silva
Smith-Rowe
Nketiah
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8 years ago today Aaron Ramsey made his Arsenal debut
Arsenal FC @Arsenal 4h4 hours ago
🔴 265 appearances
⚽ 43 goals
👟👉⚽ 39 assists
🏆 2 FA Cups
👏 1 @AaronRamsey
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what is this about
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correction on the youth scorers, Malen got one of the goals, not da silva
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HT: Hull 1-0 Leicester
seemingly Hull well deserve their lead.
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Wenger’s Arsenal captains:
Adams: 6 years
Vieira: 3 yrs
Henry: 2 yrs
Gallas: 1.5 yrs
Fabregas: 2.5 yrs
V Persie: 1 yr
Vermaelen: 2 yrs
Arteta: 2 yrs
Mertesacker; ?
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Well deserved win for Hull. Leicester toothless up front and disorganised at the back.
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Arsenal U18’s beat Aston Villa U18’s 4-0
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lcfc are the first bpl champions to lose the opening game of the next season
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Arsenal U18 line up against Aston Villa, in the 4-0 win, (goals Nketiah x2, Malen, Smith-Rowe)
Keto
Osei-Tutu
T Bola
McGuane
Olowu
Omole
Dragomir
da Silva
Nketiah
Malen
Smith-Rowe
Subs:
Benson for Dragomir
Barden
Coyle for da Silva
J Willock for Smith-Rowe
Burton
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Please don’t post Gifs.
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afcstuff @afcstuff 2h2 hours ago
Krystian Bielik was the only youth player to train with the first-team today ahead of tomorrow’s game. [@jeorgebird]
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No holding or he is not considered a youth player? meaning he was there as a senior player?
likely bellerin holding chambers monreal
or
bellerin chambers monreal gibb
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saw a headline saying Per is a woeful choice… are they serious? thought he was vice-captain and thus captain much of the time Arteta was out?
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Gnabry has done it again for Germany, he has put them ahead, in first half stoppage time, v Portugal in the quarters of the olympics. 1-0 to Germany, Gnabry’s 6th goal of the tournament, in 4 games.
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Gnabry has played left wing for Germany in the Olympics, and is doing very well, coming in from wide left to shoot with his right foot. Another fine finish from him today.
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Germany gone 2-0 up, goal from Ginter.
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Germany through to the olympic semi finals, 4-0 winners v Portugal. Arsenal youth keeper Virginia got no game time for Portugal, but at only 16 he might have a few olympics to play in yet
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Watched the last 15 minutes from the Etihad – what a load of cack. Guardiola must wonder what on earth he has signed up for with that shower, both on and off the pitch.
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I think what alot of people are forgetting is the captain used be a leader on the pitch, this role has changed over the years with many experienced players taking up the mantle. However the captain is now the club captain which is an entirely new role, it incorporates media work and lots of work behind the scenes. In my view Per is absolutely ideal for the job and you have to wonder why anyone would question such a decision.
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Quite right AoB – club captain is an ambassadorial role, appointed as the face of the club to the media, sponsors and fans – not some fist waving galoot with a taste for hard liquor
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In terms of on field organisers Cech is excellent in arranging his defenders and commanding his area. Ramsey and Alexis lead by example and don’t hang back when the feet are flying. And Santi is the brain.
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