Summer Transfers 2025 Missed Opportunities and Regrets

getting bck to the point, Liverpool have simply stepped in and paid up to get the most important signing done, while we haggle over sixpence - there's stories of Man Utd planning to swoop for Gyokeres and I wouldn't be surprised to see others do so too, however intransigent the preseident is, surely the player must be getting fed up at us not just sorting it?

If we don't sign a striker the club can look forward to a half-empty Emirates after the first half-dozen games, as with those fixtures it will see us well behind in any 'title race' - that means fewer merch and refreshment sales etc - how much does that add up to? surely whatever it costs to get Gyokeres over the line?

I still absolutely don’t want Gyokeres to the point where I’m hoping the deal falls through, I’d have liked us to sign Ekitike because I think he’s a genuinely decent player who has performed well in a superior league to Portugal, I don’t think he’s better or worse than Sesko, and I’m sure I mentioned him as a possible signing before Liverpool started sniffing around. But then again I can criticise the board for wasting its time on a 27 year old with disturbingly little in the way of top pedigree rather than moving onto him after it appeared Leipzig weren’t going to play ball over Sesko (I’d have probably also have tried to raid Leipzig for Sesko and Xavi Simon)


But, if we do get Gyokeres and im wrong about him and he’s the first striker from the Portuguese league to not be a terrible disappointment in the premier league, I’ll only be too glad to admit it

Well I'd say I was looking forward to it as you're undoubtedly wrong, however it looks as though we'll never get to see it, or certainly not at Arsenal

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Originally Posted by Mac76

getting bck to the point, Liverpool have simply stepped in and paid up to get the most important signing done, while we haggle over sixpence - there's stories of Man Utd planning to swoop for Gyokeres and I wouldn't be surprised to see others do so too, however intransigent the preseident is, surely the player must be getting fed up at us not just sorting it?

If we don't sign a striker the club can look forward to a half-empty Emirates after the first half-dozen games, as with those fixtures it will see us well behind in any 'title race' - that means fewer merch and refreshment sales etc - how much does that add up to? surely whatever it costs to get Gyokeres over the line?

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The thing is, this is a bit reminiscent of what happened last season when we were all asking for a striker and all thought Sesko was coming, only at the last minute to hear he decided to sign an extension and there would be no plan B.

The longer we delay, the more likely something goes wrong and we're forced to consider another Plan B.....seriously what tittle chasing club needs over a year to recruit a suitable striker?!

Its quite sad the situation of things if you ask me

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Originally Posted by 21_GOONER_SALUTE

The thing is, this is a bit reminiscent of what happened last season when we were all asking for a striker and all thought Sesko was coming, only at the last minute to hear he decided to sign an extension and there would be no plan B.

The longer we delay, the more likely something goes wrong and we're forced to consider another Plan B.....seriously what tittle chasing club needs over a year to recruit a suitable striker?!

Its quite sad the situation of things if you ask me

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So question, if it turns out that what I hope for doesn’t transpire and we sign the swede, will you walk back some of these statements or double down in some other way.

Because to me what I’m seeing is that the club regard this as pretty much a done deal, that some transfers take longer than others.

I’ve already stated that if we don’t sign a striker full stop that I will be incredibly unhappy with the club. If the deal goes through are you prepared to say “well it took longer than I’d have liked but we got the player I want so fair play etc”

I’m interested to see if you would do that

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Originally Posted by Mac76

getting bck to the point, Liverpool have simply stepped in and paid up to get the most important signing done, while we haggle over sixpence - there's stories of Man Utd planning to swoop for Gyokeres and I wouldn't be surprised to see others do so too, however intransigent the preseident is, surely the player must be getting fed up at us not just sorting it?

If we don't sign a striker the club can look forward to a half-empty Emirates after the first half-dozen games, as with those fixtures it will see us well behind in any 'title race' - that means fewer merch and refreshment sales etc - how much does that add up to? surely whatever it costs to get Gyokeres over the line?

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The problem is that the Emirates won't be half empty - far from it. It's impossible for a lot of people to get tickets - and the club will still ensure a full stadium even if some fans decide they don't want to go.

And this is part of the wider issue, I think. If you are run by bean counters then our fan base means that second best will still maintain revenues (match days and merch at least). We simply seem to lack the ambition to compete properly with the very best. Our transfer strategy can be characterised as always wanting to the the minimum possible to try to improve the team (rather than maximising our prospects), but this improvement seems very incremental at best. I am left with the distinct impression that lately we are conducting transfer business with the handbrake firmly on (much like our on pitch performances last season) rather than showing confidence and real aspiration, and this feels underwhelming.

I defended the Madueke signing as I wasn't going to criticise the club for making signings - and I believed that Gyokores was in the bag (still do) and that we were serious about Eze, having agreed personal terms with the player. While I accept that this is knee jerk, the past week has dented my confidence over this, and led me to return to the idea that we can only land the easy signings with minimal fuss, but pull our punches when it comes to bigger, more exciting (and let's face it the most crucial) transfers.

Sometimes our club seems like a bell jar, leaching any feel good factor away. The last time there was a genuine feel good factor around the club was at the beginning of the 2023/24 season after we had signed Declan Rice. Part of this was because it seemed as though we had finally decided to show genuine ambition to try to win the league. As much as I try to look at us rather than the competition, Liverpool - from a better existing player base - are currently making us look distinctly small time.

I really hope that we confound Gooners' understandable reservations about how serious we are to push on properly from here...but even if we do I am not seeing much of a step change so far in how we approach transfers. Our business so far more resembles Arsene's later years than anything new.

you'd be surprised re tickets, during certain games at the end of last season you couldn't give them away - they go on ticket exchange but no-one takes them up

and even if it's mainly full, a lack of enthusiasm does feed into merch salees, plus what time people get to the ground and therefore how many refreshments they have etc

Like you I had a peak of excitement when it looked like both Gyokeres and Eze were real possibilities but we've allowed this to go tits up - they wanted the signings before going on tour but now we're paying god know how much money to take trash like Zin and Lokonga on tour - and what impact does that tour distraction have on our ability to focus on the transefers we've most needed all summer?

I'm increasingly convinced Arteta is somehow responsible for playing hardball over Gyokeres, he didn't want him anyway and so he's trying to scupper it IMO, presumably by insisting we don't go abvoe a certain price - IK that sounds like tin-foil-hat stuff but I genuinely wouldn't put it past him

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Originally Posted by IBK

The problem is that the Emirates won't be half empty - far from it. It's impossible for a lot of people to get tickets - and the club will still ensure a full stadium even if some fans decide they don't want to go.

And this is part of the wider issue, I think. If you are run by bean counters then our fan base means that second best will still maintain revenues (match days and merch at least). We simply seem to lack the ambition to compete properly with the very best. Our transfer strategy can be characterised as always wanting to the the minimum possible to try to improve the team (rather than maximising our prospects), but this improvement seems very incremental at best. I am left with the distinct impression that lately we are conducting transfer business with the handbrake firmly on (much like our on pitch performances last season) rather than showing confidence and real aspiration, and this feels underwhelming.

I defended the Madueke signing as I wasn't going to criticise the club for making signings - and I believed that Gyokores was in the bag (still do) and that we were serious about Eze, having agreed personal terms with the player. While I accept that this is knee jerk, the past week has dented my confidence over this, and led me to return to the idea that we can only land the easy signings with minimal fuss, but pull our punches when it comes to bigger, more exciting (and let's face it the most crucial) transfers.

Sometimes our club seems like a bell jar, leaching any feel good factor away. The last time there was a genuine feel good factor around the club was at the beginning of the 2023/24 season after we had signed Declan Rice. Part of this was because it seemed as though we had finally decided to show genuine ambition to try to win the league. As much as I try to look at us rather than the competition, Liverpool - from a better existing player base - are currently making us look distinctly small time.

I really hope that we confound Gooners' understandable reservations about how serious we are to push on properly from here...but even if we do I am not seeing much of a step change so far in how we approach transfers. Our business so far more resembles Arsene's later years than anything new.

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I think these are all reasonable points and I think it’s understandable within reason to be frustrated (with Gyokeres I personally don’t care all that much but that’s personal bias against signing the player). I do think it’s fair to say though that when it comes to transfer negotiations and how they are conducted, we are on here about as well versed in them as we are in conversational mandarin (someone is going to point out that they can do that to piss on that example I just know :lol:)
The other point is if the negotiations are the same as the late Wenger era, then that would be a signal that there’s not much we can do but hope for the best. Reading an article today that reinforces my belief that the Kroenkes want the club to take as minimum risk as possible when it comes to spending, and that it’s Arteta who has convinced them to push the boat out more. This would be consistent with his statement this morning that the club needs reinforcement still both in strength and quality, and if we suppose we don’t get it….Arteta may become quite outspoken about it even if only to cover up his own shortcomings (which is no different to most coaches)
The disagreement with Sporting seems to be on the amount of money we offer up front, which suggests to me that we are reluctant to do this because of potential impact on other signings, a barrier that may well not have been there with Madueke as Chelsea probably only feel they need the equivalent of an IOU to convince UEFA they are meeting their FFP commitments

The sad fact is, whilst it’s probably more comforting to believe in the unique ineptitude of Arteta and other members of Arsenal staff (because that’s more changeable). It’s far more likely that we are restricted in what we can do (in the way Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City aren’t) because KSE are hugely risk avoidant. Arsenal works for them as an asset as long as it’s making the champions league, anything else is all risk no reward from their perspective

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Originally Posted by Mac76

you'd be surprised re tickets, during certain games at the end of last season you couldn't give them away - they go on ticket exchange but no-one takes them up

and even if it's mainly full, a lack of enthusiasm does feed into merch salees, plus what time people get to the ground and therefore how many refreshments they have etc

Like you I had a peak of excitement when it looked like both Gyokeres and Eze were real possibilities but we've allowed this to go tits up - they wanted the signings before going on tour but now we're paying god know how much money to take trash like Zin and Lokonga on tour - and what impact does that tour distraction have on our ability to focus on the transefers we've most needed all summer?

I'm increasingly convinced Arteta is somehow responsible for playing hardball over Gyokeres, he didn't want him anyway and so he's trying to scupper it IMO, presumably by insisting we don't go abvoe a certain price - IK that sounds like tin-foil-hat stuff but I genuinely wouldn't put it past him

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I'm not that prone to speculation, but something is going on with the Gyokores deal. Sporting are clearly not making it easy, but from the outside they have backed Arsenal into a corner that might have appeared unthinkable when you consider the player's efforts to engineer the move. Good striker options are thin on the ground this Summer, and while it would seem like we used the Sesko/Gyokores pivot to put pressure on Sporting (potential pivot to Sesko if things didn't work with Gyok), our unsettling of the player, combined with pre-season now having started and it appearing pretty clear that Gyok is the only game in town seems to have backfired. Our need is so pressing that it seems strange if we are haggling over small sums.

Elsewhere it seems as though we are back to leaving it late in the window to try to get value...something that has royally backfired on us in the past...

Again I hope I'm wrong...

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Originally Posted by IBK

I'm not that prone to speculation, but something is going on with the Gyokores deal. Sporting are clearly not making it easy, but from the outside they have backed Arsenal into a corner that might have appeared unthinkable when you consider the player's efforts to engineer the move. Good striker options are thin on the ground this Summer, and while it would seem like we used the Sesko/Gyokores pivot to put pressure on Sporting (potential pivot to Sesko if things didn't work with Gyok), our unsettling of the player, combined with pre-season now having started and it appearing pretty clear that Gyok is the only game in town seems to have backfired. Our need is so pressing that it seems strange if we are haggling over small sums.

Elsewhere it seems as though we are back to leaving it late in the window to try to get value...something that has royally backfired on us in the past...

Again I hope I'm wrong...

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The disagreement from what I can understand is about the difference between what the selling club gets when the player has x amount of appearances for the club, scores x amount of goals, wins certain trophies etc and guaranteed money now that Sporting want no matter what. I think the difference in figure represents what Arsenal want to keep to use for other signings, now of course that’s no less speculative than conspiracy nonsense but I do try at least to paint a picture of what’s most likely (given the available information)