You have a chance to do something hilarious now. £120m+1 for Isak?
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Well yes and no.
The problem is, if we continually remain 1-2 players short, then how can we say it's down to the manager / coach if they never have everything they need?
The other top clubs don't seem to have this problem. When they have an area they need to improve on they usually do or they have a player that can fill in the role and do a good job.
We always seem to be stuck in a situation where we have to make shift a replacement and hope it works.
The fact it’s been reported by The Athletic that we are exploring the market for options now suggests it’s probably very serious for Havertz, “knee issue” possibly means ACL. Horrendous luck.
Might also explain why Trossard was given a pay rise to stick around if he was looking to leave.
Mate, I mean this in a nice way, but I'm hardly disputing things you say anymore, especially when it comes to anything Arteta related.
Your views on him are pretty much entrenched and I'm turning a new leaf trying to avoid forever arguments that go no where until obviously time proves me right (and a sometimes wrong).
Your views are clear, Arteta has done an outstanding job taking us from relegation fodder (apparently) to the dizzying heights of 2nd place in everything while spending what is appropriate to do so. He might not win anything for us, as you concede, but he has done a great job which few in the world could replicate.
I on the other hand feel he's done nothing but the bare minimum based on the verifiable amounts we've given him and more importantly, like I keep emphasising, the time and trust we've invested. We were never a total basket case, and even if we were, the jobs that managers like AW, Klopp and Alonso had to do to turn around their squads, under far more pressure and with less goodwill, were far more impressive.
This is where I'm entrenched, and even if he won the treble this season it's not going to erase what happened in the past few years where I believed a better manager would have gotten more from an expensively acquired squad "in his image".
Your first line above, where you're trying to isolate the manager from any culpability in our inability to get proper value for players he recruited, after arguing copiously in the last few pages that he's done miracles with recruitment and creating value is why I can't be bothered to keep these debates up with all its inherent futility.....I know you'll say your usual line of "2 things can be true at once" but TBH I really don't care how many things are true, when I only need one thing to be.
I want a manager who can win the league and play entertaining football while doing so, while also ensuring our academy products get the best opportunities they deserve. Arteta hasn't succeeded in any of the 3 aspects IMO, and you going on about how Herculean the brief was doesn't change the fact that it's a doable job, what he signed up for, and more importantly, has been achieved by several managers all over the world in the past with less drama.
Is Sterling still available for a loan deal........:unsure:
True re: Trossard. They knew Havertz was going to be out so they dropped the Trossard news first thinking it would soften the blow.
Worryingly it also means they had no intention of signing anyone else and now this will force there hand. Same old Arsenal.
Except they do. Liverpool look massively vulnerable at the back and that’s not going to be fixed by signing Guehi alone
The only side for me that has a perfectly balanced squad is City.
As I say if there were these one or two players out there that I’d say would unquestionably improve what we’ve already got I might agree but I don’t think there necessarily is.
I initially wanted us to recruit 2 strikers this window and sell Havertz, but that was when quality like Ekitike and Sesko were available.
I think we'll be ok, as Goku has a pretty impressive injury record (another huge plus for the signing) and we have Merino if needed. I also liked that young kid we had pre-season and probably he'll get an opportunity.
If any more money is made available for this transfer window, IMO the priority still has to be getting someone else to take the load off our misfiring captain....spending money on anything else is a waste IMO.
BTW, I wonder who tackled him, I hope it's not Gabby again :lol:
You make good points on here generally, but your overstatements let you down this time. I have not made a number of the assertions that you attribute to me, and I don't regard Arteta as either outstanding or a miracle worker, or without fault. I have said repeatedly that I have significan't misgivings about whether he can take us further forward. But I do not like absolutes, because I have learnt that nothing in the world is black and white, and the intention of my posts has been to argue against those (not necessarily you) who are not willing to see the other side of the Arteta argument.
We essentially want the same thing - like most Gooners - so your right best to leave it there.