Not only that, they have far bigger squads at the moment. We're at 13 players for Villa...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooner23
WENGER OUT
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Not only that, they have far bigger squads at the moment. We're at 13 players for Villa...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gooner23
WENGER OUT
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry Tuffnutz
yeah he did, but some rumours that he got a slight knee injury. hopefully its nothing
Chelsea have made signings :doh:
He is the biggest muppet in football. Just go
Schurrle £18m
De Bruyne (back from loan)
Van Ginkel
Schwarzer (fucked up against Roma, but a good no2 keeper)
Atleast players are coming in, Wenger is mad
dont worry guys, the arsenal twitter account has a solution. if you buy a program this week, you get 8 stickers of the first team squad.
buy next weeks, and you have the whole squad
I wish I could see all the messages the people at the Arsenal twitter are receiving now
its actually quite funny. yesterday they celebrated a signing we made 17 years. thats how desperate they are getting for hits. (in fairness though, Vieira was a fanstatic signing, player, captain, winner)Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
No point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
They'll never let the messages of the true fans get through. It'll be all of the ones showing support which they have no doubt made up themselves
Flamini will be playing there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
West Brom haven't paid anything and have got four decent players.
Anelka,
Lugano,
Popov
Vydra
You do know you are too smart for your own good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
this article has just been published by the telegraph. i cant argue with a single thing he says. its a brilliant article that sums us up completelyQuote:
Potential club record bids for Gonzalo Higuain, Lars Bender, Luis Suarez and now Luiz Gustavo have been lodged and, one by one, rejected.
The first preference of recruiting major new signings before the start of pre-season has already passed. The second target will have been Saturday’s start of the new Premier League season but that moment is about to pass.
All that remains is the closure of the transfer window at the end of August. Will Arsenal have added the two or three “world-class” player that they budgeted for by then?
It looks increasingly unlikely, with targets currently proving either unwilling to join, unavailable or, perhaps most galling of all, valued at a significantly higher price by their competitors.
With only Yaya Sanogo recruited so far on a free transfer from Auxerre, the club’s available transfer balance of £70 million sits untouched.
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An analysis this week by the blogger ‘Swiss Ramble’ (whose grasp of football finances is admired within boardrooms across Europe), estimated that Arsenal had an available cash balance of £154 million. To put that in some context, the combined cash balance of the other 19 Premier League clubs was put at £181 million.
The situation is clear: Arsène Wenger does have big money at his disposal but has simply not spent it. The caveat of course is that a definitive judgment can only be made in September and arguably not until the end of season.
Yet even for those who have become accustomed to Arsenal’s caution, this summer is threatening to end in major disappointment. It certainly seems a long time since Ivan Gazidis, the club’s chief executive, addressed the media in June to talk about the club’s off-field strength.
“This year,” he said, “we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time, which is the escalation in our financial firepower.
“We have a certain amount of money which we’ve held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you.”
So what has been happening? The answer is complicated but does continue to raise questions about the off-field structures at Arsenal.
The first thing is to debunk the conspiracy theories. There are no restrictions placed on Wenger or Gazidis by the club’s owner Stan Kroenke.
His priority is to develop the club’s commercial streams precisely so that Arsenal have the maximum possible spending power. He is no sugar-daddy owner in the style of Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour but there has been no suggestion of him placing debt on the club or taking dividends for himself.
Put simply, the club’s resources are available to Wenger and Kroenke’s philosophy is that it is down to his manager, with the support of the chief executive, to decide on the transfer priorities. There is little interference.
The concerns, then, are two fold. Firstly, following the departure as vice-chairman of David Dein back in 2007, there is still the nagging sense that Arsenal lack a personality with the contacts and guile to thrive in what Gazidis has called the “wild west” of European football, with its many layers of agents, presidents, chief executives and managers.
From a distance, the decision to pursue the unlikely acquisition of Suarez at the expense of Higuain appears naïve. Surely Arsenal’s summer strategy was not really shaped by Suarez’s interpretation of a contract clause?
The other concern relates squarely to Wenger. He, after all, is the most powerful man at Arsenal and generally the ultimate arbiter of who comes and goes.
Wenger’s desire to make signings is not in doubt but what appears to have become outdated is his valuation of top players. There is a certain strength in walking away from a deal once the bidding gets out of hand but, if you find yourself in that position too often, does there not come a stage where you question whether it is your own valuation that has become unrealistic?
It is all very well for Wenger to make the valid complaint about the ineffectual financial fair-play regulations but, all the time that he sticks to his own valuations of players, the best talent goes elsewhere and Arsenal’s bank balance simply swells further.
The market dictates the cost of footballers and, in a world where Edinson Cavani is £48 million, Gareth Bale is £86 million and Radamel Falcao £55 million, surely it was worth going to £31 million for Higuain?
There is the suspicion that the outside frustration with Wenger’s transfer strategy is being felt just as acutely inside Arsenal. The sense of momentum that was building last season is already under threat and, unless Arsenal start well, it can be safely predicted that the Emirates crowd will be quick to register their displeasure.
The danger then is of the club being sucked into a downward spiral of negativity.
In Arsenal’s defence, there is still much to admire about the young squad that Wenger has been rebuilding. Arsenal were the best team in England during the final third of last season and they are not the only ones struggling in this transfer market. Just look at Manchester United.
Wenger would surely argue that his squad lacks only a sprinkling of established world class talent and that it would now be counterproductive to add signings from the second tier of world football simply to appease supporters.
Arsenal’s recent record in the transfer market is also better than generally perceived. To remain even in touch with Manchester City and Chelsea, while spending around £500 million less over this last decade, could not happen without some shrewd management.
Similarly, Arsenal are far better placed than Liverpool despite almost identical spending. As Wenger never tires of explaining to the media, the challenge is not quite as simple as walking into a supermarket and choosing a luxury product.
A large part of Arsenal’s problem is that they are genuinely trying to shop in a rather more exclusive store this summer. People might say that Tottenham have been more effective but there is a difference in closing deals for Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli to the more ambitious targets that Arsenal have chased.
The final result, however, is that Arsenal could find themselves with a weaker squad than their north London neighbours and their Champions League place under serious threat.
From a position where they actually had the chance to push upwards and mount a legitimate Premier League challenge, that would only be the result of poor management. And with Wenger in the final year of his contract, a summer that is remembered for missed opportunities could yet prove defining for all the wrong reasons in the career of Arsenal’s most successful ever manager.
i.e. we're shitQuote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
Or Wenger would haggle in a supermarket about what he considers the true value of a packet of Bertoni fusilli pasta isQuote:
Originally Posted by Jam Persie
Which explains why he's nothing but skin and bones...Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
He did an economics degree, so was tutored in such a way that he went to bed having nightmares about macroeconomic policy....the idea of spending money to generate money.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jam Persie
Lol the daily mail have a big article now
Arsene Wenger has let 17 players leave this summer. He has brought in only one (and he was free). Now Arsenal have just 11 fit senior stars ahead of their opening game. So, what IS he doing?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...64_964x297.jpg
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ton-Villa.html
Someone write an open letter to Wenger telling him to go.
arteta out for 6 weeks apparently
:haha: :haha: :haha:
You can't make this up ??Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
........can you ?
:haha:
Wenger :pal:
What the fuck is he doing
:haha: :haha: :haha:
i dont know whether to laugh or cry. this is a fucking disgrace :haha:
Just laugh man, Wenger is out this time next year, lets laugh at how far south he's gone :haha:
Players we have for Villa, red is injured/doubtful to play
Chesney
fabianski
Sanga
Monreal
BFG
Jenkinson
Vermaelen
Gibbs
Kosc
Arteta
Rosicky
Cazorla
Diaby
Wilshere
Frimpong
Ramsey
Miyaichi
Podolski
Sanogo
Giroud
Walcott
OX
Park ( AWOL )
Bendtner
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...43_636x502.jpg
Fucking hell, Newcastle are bieng linked with Valbuena, fucking Newcastle , £8m for a world class player
This image made me :lol: though
@piersmorgan
No new signings, not enough players fit...what a shambolic start to the season. Shame on Wenger/Gazidis/Kroenke. Buy NOW, and buy BIG. #AFC
:bow:
It's gotten to the point where sacking is no longer a strong enough response to this state of affairs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
I'd thought it was a bit disrespectful of John W Henry to ask 'what are they smoking?' earlier. But now I think he was spot on...wtf are they smoking?
At least a couple of savage murders would be a start.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jam Persie
Robbie and Lily?Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry Tuffnutz
Looked at your avatar just now, and saw that cunts mug...Quote:
Originally Posted by Master Splinter
Thank fuck Tony Pulis has fucked off, imagine if we faced him the first game :haha:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRjfh8t-AAU
Spend some fucking money :haha:
Chances of seeing this on Sat ?
Poor guys, being taken to the cleaners by Wenger and Co
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
He's not that bad is he ? Whenever I see him play, he does good.Quote:
Originally Posted by hobson's choice
I remember when some of you said that this guy > walcott
:haha:
http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/15/nickla...senal-3925221/
Still refusing to lower wage demands even though he hasn't played in a year...
seems he'll get another chance very soon to prove he's actually > Wally.Quote:
Originally Posted by AKBapologist
who would have thought? :haha:
#PaperThinSquad
He's easily a better player than Walcott technically, but then again who isn't? But his character is worse than anyone I can think of. As such, a non-footballer and he has the non-appearances to prove it.Quote:
Originally Posted by AKBapologist
With Arteta gone we have no choice but to sign somebody. Hopefully it won't be a stop gap, but chances are that's exactly what Wenger will go for. Mind you I'm sure he's already thought about throwing one of the youngsters in at the deep end as a desperate bid to stave off the mounting requirement to spend money.
Get the guy with the Afro and give him what he wantsQuote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
The solution:
http://www.arsenal.com/academy/players/alfred-mugabo
It really comes to something when i find myself agreeing with that insufferable dickheadQuote:
Originally Posted by Munchies
Clicked on that Van Bronkhorst article on the side, lol:
And you came back to haunt Arsenal in Paris in 2006…
Sometimes things can go very strangely. Being in the Champions League final against Arsenal, facing your old colleagues, was strange and different. It was one of the best moments in my career, winning a trophy like that against my former team. It was a bit sad for Arsenal because I knew what being in the Champions League meant to Arsène. But I was happy for myself that I got the medal and won the cup.
Fair enough really....don't harbour the slightest ill will towards Gio.... and to be honest it's not like a) we missed him as we went through an entire season unbeaten after the summer we sold him or b) Barca wouldn't have beaten us without him in the side. It's interesting though how we played him as a central midfield yet at Barca he became a left back. Always played ok for us, never really remember him having a bad game but to be honest never really remember him having a spectacular game for us either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchies