Thank god.
Thank god.
NOTE: The location of this post has been moved and the thread title (which was previously Wenger is Leaving) has been manipulated by a notorious pro-Wenger moderator. What was previously a message that contained no profanity and made a comment on a real life event has now been manipulated by a deliberately provocative title. An old and crude propaganda and censorship technique.
Well about time something happened on this. We still couldn't find anyone to buy him though.
We'd only be losing his wages anyway so worth finally ending the farce.
What an awful end to what was our record signing though, sad really.
Signing him was pretty much the turning point in how this club operated. The stadium debt had eased and we could finally start spending big. It was a genuine superstar signing, I remember we were all in disbelief that we had pulled it off.
He started well enough but as Wenger faded so did he. The coaches since haven’t cared to pamper him as much.
A sad end but quite a relief that we can finally move on from this stupid situation.
The game kind of changed around him too - the shift towards the high press clearly didn’t suit him and he didn’t adapt. Guess he had no incentive to once he signed that contract...
This should be a watershed moment for football in general and us as a club. No more contracts without a performance exit clause. If you play like shit. an independent board should be convened to determine if the contract can be ripped up.
We have a near identical situation with Willian again. I fear.
Last edited by Globalgunner; 16-01-2021 at 02:15 PM.
Make 2mrw better than 2day
I agree he faded a bit at times and i realise he seemd not to get on with a succession of coaches, but given the low calibre of Emery, Freddie and the jury still out on Arteta (although he's undoubtedly a control freak) i've some sympathy for someone who knew he was a high-class player and didn't need to run around a thousand traffic cones an hour to prove it
the fact players like Xhaka, Willian and Mustafi have been nailed-on starters for long periods when we all knew they were shite proves that coaches not liking him is not to his discredit but to theirs
he could have been a help to us this season adn last season and if the money was wasted it was others' decission not to play him at times when he craved any creativity in the side - he wasn't a miracle cure and that £350k deal was riduculous but it was a scandal the way he was ignored for so long by people not fit to clean his boots
So long, Mesut - I'm glad you were an Arsenal player, you gave us some good times and i wish you all the best
Don’t panic just yet! He’s not being offered a new contract and he’s barely even making the bench atm - he’s in no one’s plans past this season, imo.
Look at the efforts we went to to tie Saka, Martinelli and Auba down to new deals last year. Look at the recent extension for Holding. These things get done when we’re talking about a player that we genuinely want to keep. Even when we can’t agree a deal, you still know when talks have been going on (e.g. Balogun) - with Mustafi there’s been nothing.
I’d carefully sift anything Arteta says about players before the summer window - he still needs to get a turn out of these players between now and then, and maximise value for sales. Keep your eye on who is actually being offered contracts, especially players who are down to 18 months or less - that will tell you more about who he really trusts and who we’re planning to build around.
Last edited by I am invisible; 16-01-2021 at 04:01 PM.
And Auba, potentially. I actually think he’ll play himself out of this funk eventually, but that’s not really the point - we should never have handed out that deal.
I just hope we’ve learned our lesson when it comes to Lacazette - respect to him for his current form and the way he’s fought his way back into the team, but we should absolutely look to sell this summer.
Ozil confirms the Fenerbache move.
Good news on this and I am surprised he hasn't sat it out, but I guess we would have given him some kind of compensation package.
This is a start, but I suspect the same kind of exits will happen for the likes of Kola (when he officially leaves), Sokaratis, Mustafi & maybe even Torreira.
I don't know how we got into this mess where we have built up a squad of senior players who are now deemed worthless, that's basically the reality of the situation and I don't see any other Prem clubs struggling like this.
Even Spuds are selling their 3rd choice right backs (Walker-Peters) for decent enough fees...we can't get rid of anybody for anything.
Last edited by selassie; 19-01-2021 at 02:05 PM.