Winter Transfer Non-Arrivals and Goodbyes

[Letters]

Am I barking up the wrong tree here or is all the hand wringing over January transfers a bit hysterical?

There's always going to be some over-reactions.
And Auba had to go. But the way we've managed it all is so typically poor. We very publicly ostracised him to the point where it was clear to everyone that we were desperate to get rid. That does not lend itself to a strong negotiating position, letting him go for free when he had 18 months left on his contract was ridiculous and desperate and a consequence of that.
I think clearing out some dead wood is, overall, a good thing. But it's disappointing to not get any reinforcements in and our squad now feels very thing.
Makes our push for top 4 - a race we are still very much in - look difficult.
Lots of work to do in the summer.

[Mac76]

We very publicly ostracised him to the point where it was clear to everyone that we were desperate to get rid. That does not lend itself to a strong negotiating position

This is why all those people defending Arteta's behaviour with some of these players are so wrong, it does exactly what you say and loses us money

and then there are those he just decides he doesn't like the look of and freezes them out or sells them while insisting Xhaka starts every game he isn't suspended from: think Saliba, Balogun, Chambers - we could do with all three of them now but they're all loaned or sold

[I am invisible]

Am I barking up the wrong tree here or is all the hand wringing over January transfers a bit hysterical? Our best performances this season have been without Aubameyang, who hasn't played since 5 December, and has scored the grand total of 4 EPL goals this season. He had a mediocre season last season, scoring 10 EPL goals - which is ridiculous for a £350K pw striker - and had discipline issues that clearly threatened the focus and well being of the team. Even if he had stayed - making an about turn would have been an issue for the manager - and there's nothing to suggest that he would have been anything but an extra body up fornt rather than making a real difference, or that we would have found a buyer for any kind of real transfer fee at the end of the season. We couldn't have risked another Ozil and have to remember that we can't force the player to leave - so I can see the logic of (a) accepting a move where he agreed to go, and (b) getting his wage bill off the books.

It would have been great to get the right striker in, but I can see the common sense of not just buying anyone - and then risking another Willian...or another mediocre player that did not work medium term.

Aside from perhaps AMN, I can't see that any of our departures has changed anything. Let's not get hung up on a shitty January where we nevertheless had some encouraging performances, in circumstances where the team was decimated and on its last legs physically.

Yes - failure to bring in fresh blood is dispappointing and a risk. But our aim this season was Europa League and we only have EPL matches left - no other distractions.

We have a long break before our next game, and hopefully fitness issues can be resolved as a result. Persisting with Martinelli as our major goal threat (whether re-purposed as a striker or as part of a decent front 4 - Saka; ESR; Martinelli; Odegard) is not such a bad prospect - so let's see what happens. At the end of the season if its turned to shit, then of course we will point to a January transfer failure as the cause, but for me its not as cut and dried as that yet and we shouldn't get carried away by our failure to land the player we want/need in what traditionally is not a productive transfer period for Arsenal.

Don't fall into the trap of seeing what other clubs are doing - largely in desperation - and forget that up to January (and even against Citeh) this team was doing really well.

Yeah, I’m pretty easy about it all tbh - mostly I’m just laughing at the usual media overreaction to anything and everything we do! They so want this to be an Arsenal CRISIS

The need for an extra midfielder has been and gone, so I can’t be bothered getting worked up about that now, and the odds of bringing in a top striker in January were always long - disappointed we didn’t get anyone, but at least we didn’t lock ourselves into any bad deals either. That’s been as big a problem for us as anything in recent years and I’m kind of glad the people at the top are finally starting to subject our business to some oversight.

Mostly this group of players needed a rest after playing 7 games in December and then rolling straight into a brutal January. And they’re getting that right now in Dubai. We haven’t strengthened, but it’s still the same team who were flying before Christmas, and I’m looking forward to seeing them fully recharged and refreshed again. We have 20 players to see us through 17 games across the next 4 months, and maximum rest in between matches - it should be comfortable enough.

[Marc Overmars]

Mutual consent is the official line on Auba.

Fair play to him for not rinsing his contract down when he was never going to play. Unlike certain others.

Major saving there for us with his wages.

Must have been one hell of a fallout with Arteta for all parties to just cut ties so suddenly. Quite sad really, he carried us for a couple of years and won us the cup with his goals. Absolute shite since he got the deal though, it’s the right time to move on.

[Niall_Quinn]

Am I barking up the wrong tree here or is all the hand wringing over January transfers a bit hysterical? Our best performances this season have been without Aubameyang, who hasn't played since 5 December, and has scored the grand total of 4 EPL goals this season. He had a mediocre season last season, scoring 10 EPL goals - which is ridiculous for a £350K pw striker - and had discipline issues that clearly threatened the focus and well being of the team. Even if he had stayed - making an about turn would have been an issue for the manager - and there's nothing to suggest that he would have been anything but an extra body up fornt rather than making a real difference, or that we would have found a buyer for any kind of real transfer fee at the end of the season. We couldn't have risked another Ozil and have to remember that we can't force the player to leave - so I can see the logic of (a) accepting a move where he agreed to go, and (b) getting his wage bill off the books.

It would have been great to get the right striker in, but I can see the common sense of not just buying anyone - and then risking another Willian...or another mediocre player that did not work medium term.

Aside from perhaps AMN, I can't see that any of our departures has changed anything. Let's not get hung up on a shitty January where we nevertheless had some encouraging performances, in circumstances where the team was decimated and on its last legs physically.

Yes - failure to bring in fresh blood is dispappointing and a risk. But our aim this season was Europa League and we only have EPL matches left - no other distractions.

We have a long break before our next game, and hopefully fitness issues can be resolved as a result. Persisting with Martinelli as our major goal threat (whether re-purposed as a striker or as part of a decent front 4 - Saka; ESR; Martinelli; Odegard) is not such a bad prospect - so let's see what happens. At the end of the season if its turned to shit, then of course we will point to a January transfer failure as the cause, but for me its not as cut and dried as that yet and we shouldn't get carried away by our failure to land the player we want/need in what traditionally is not a productive transfer period for Arsenal.

Don't fall into the trap of seeing what other clubs are doing - largely in desperation - and forget that up to January (and even against Citeh) this team was doing really well.

I think you are barking up a tree, maybe with validity, but missing the biggest tree in the forest. Arsenal has been fucking up transfer windows for a long time now. That's the last 2 star players burned and flogged for nothing. We got minimum return on a host of other players too, while genuine shitkickers from other clubs were going for millions.

The levels of incompetency (or complacency) at Arsenal stand out. Yet the fans continue to get fleeced. That's not me. I'm not a fan any more and I wouldn't comment on anyone else deciding how they want to spend their cash other than to say Stan loves you. The more you give him the more he'll demand. Every Arsenal fan must be able to recognise the pattern by now. Wait until the knife-edge, blow some cash to keep things above water, then settle in for the next cycle. Doesn't mean money isn't being spent, it's just not being spent at a frequency that seriously competitive clubs pursue. Then the assets are so seriously mismanaged or wasted you can only laugh, once in despair but now because it's so comical.

Windows like this continue to remind that Arsenal FC is all about the business and nothing about the football. And on the rare occasion I watch them on the pitch it serves as the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

[IBK]

I think you are barking up a tree, maybe with validity, but missing the biggest tree in the forest. Arsenal has been fucking up transfer windows for a long time now. That's the last 2 star players burned and flogged for nothing. We got minimum return on a host of other players too, while genuine shitkickers from other clubs were going for millions.

The levels of incompetency (or complacency) at Arsenal stand out. Yet the fans continue to get fleeced. That's not me. I'm not a fan any more and I wouldn't comment on anyone else deciding how they want to spend their cash other than to say Stan loves you. The more you give him the more he'll demand. Every Arsenal fan must be able to recognise the pattern by now. Wait until the knife-edge, blow some cash to keep things above water, then settle in for the next cycle. Doesn't mean money isn't being spent, it's just not being spent at a frequency that seriously competitive clubs pursue. Then the assets are so seriously mismanaged or wasted you can only laugh, once in despair but now because it's so comical.

Windows like this continue to remind that Arsenal FC is all about the business and nothing about the football. And on the rare occasion I watch them on the pitch it serves as the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

I agree that our burning of assets has been lamentable, and my post was directed more to those writing the team off because we didn't panic buy in January rather than this wider issue.

Regarding incompetency - I would say that from Arteta's perspective, his player management has been partly due to him being a rookie manager, and I hope he will learn and improve this now he is moulding a team of players who will buy in to his methods and philosophy. We can't on the one hand observe that the player culture at the club has to change and then be too harsh on a manager who - albeit messily - is trying to change this.

In a wider sense, the fiscal management is indicative of those at the top being clueless and a lack of a coherent strategy - and this firefighting that you refer to is the result. For balance to your post however, we have spent plenty of money, and the Summer's recruitment was a success. Also, our relative lack of footballing success this past few years has played a part. As I say I can understand the lack of incoming players this January and we can only hope that player management improves from here on in.

[Letters]

(The details of Auba's Barca contract)

Aubameyang's deal runs until 30 June 2025 and includes an option to agree a departure in June 2023, plus a buyout clause of 100 million euros (£83.4m).

Us

[dazthegooner]

(The details of Auba's Barca contract)





Us

So will be at Newcastle soon then?

[Mac76]

incompetence

corrected - no need to thank me...

[KSE Comedy Club]

There's always going to be some over-reactions.
And Auba had to go. But the way we've managed it all is so typically poor. We very publicly ostracised him to the point where it was clear to everyone that we were desperate to get rid. That does not lend itself to a strong negotiating position, letting him go for free when he had 18 months left on his contract was ridiculous and desperate and a consequence of that.
I think clearing out some dead wood is, overall, a good thing. But it's disappointing to not get any reinforcements in and our squad now feels very thing.
Makes our push for top 4 - a race we are still very much in - look difficult.
Lots of work to do in the summer.

As usual, it's not the defeat - but the manner in which the defeat occured.

So very 'Arsenal'