Is it perspective or do we screw up more than others transfer wise?

[Nayan]

Andrey Arshavin, Sébastien Squillaci, Gervinho, André Santos, Park Chu-young and Marouane Chamakh. To name but some. I know we like to laugh at Torres, but have we made more mistakes than others signing players, and if so, why?

Everyone was having a daisy over arshavin early on and there is no doubt that bringing him in that January was a major part of shoring up CL football that season.
Santos looked good at first.
Ditto Chamakh who was getting rave reviews for understudying RVP who was banjaxed early in the morroccan's arsenal career. You can say they did contribute something and it was bad luck they didnt work out, or that they were badly used and grew demotivated. We dont know whether having to play in the same team as diaby, denilson and eboue (as well as out of posiiton) demotiovated Arshavin and ultimately led to RVP leaving to go to a proper club.

The rest are uniformly shit indeed. Point being however its easy to be a bit revisionist.

Anyway moving on Ramsey has been a damp squib, Jury still out on Walcott. Cazorla and Podoslki inconsistent.

However, Arteta has been a canny purchase and for all his slowness, mertesecker has dont more good than bad. the OX is young but we are rightly optimistic there too.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Everyone was having a daisy over arshavin early on and there is no doubt that bringing him in that January was a major part of shoring up CL football that season.
Santos looked good at first.
Ditto Chamakh who was getting rave reviews for understudying RVP who was banjaxed early in the morroccan's arsenal career.

Santos looked good at the start because he was following on from the back of the 8 -2 shellacking and Armand Traore's terrible performances.

There were warning signs about Chamkah from the very start on GW from what I recall. He always had a reluctance and fear to take responsibility and try and actually shoot. This was masked amongst some hard work and just overall great team performances but once the losses started piling up his flaws were exposed.


However on reflection you're right on Arshavin. Despite the past couple of years of being invisible it was worth shelling out the 15 million plus 80 K/4 year deal simply just so we could remain in the CL that year which he was largely responsible for.

[LDG]

Probably one for another topic, but I've never gotten why we have gone for the "big man" up top as our cover striker, and arguably now, first choice striker.

Bender, Chamahk, Giroud....I just don't get it. We never really cross the ball (properly) to play to those stregths, and we don't often play it long to bring them into the game anyway.

I got the Adebayor thing, as the lanky twat could use his gangly judas feet in a weird way, and had pace, so caused all kinds of problems for defences.

When we play with a big man, their main stregnths are just null and void....though luckily Giroud seems to have more guile about him than Bender and Backpack.

Meh.

We need to find a powerhouse striker who can play quickly with their feet, IMHO.

[Nayan]

Probably one for another topic, but I've never gotten why we have gone for the "big man" up top as our cover striker, and arguably now, first choice striker.

Bender, Chamahk, Giroud....I just don't get it. We never really cross the ball (properly) to play to those stregths, and we don't often play it long to bring them into the game anyway.

I got the Adebayor thing, as the lanky twat could use his gangly judas feet in a weird way, and had pace, so caused all kinds of problems for defences.

When we play with a big man, their main stregnths are just null and void....though luckily Giroud seems to have more guile about him than Bender and Backpack.

Meh.

We need to find a powerhouse striker who can play quickly with their feet, IMHO.

"
* After 'wide' players Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott failed to attempt a single cross v Sunderland, they attemped 25 (four successful) v Aston Villa on Saturday.
* They were successful with a phenomenal 38 of their 42 attempted long balls v Villa with Santi Cazorla successful with all eight of his long balls. "

Giroud, rather like Bendter before him often gets into the right place at the right time even if his finishing is also wayward. He isnt pacey but he does offfer a target and we do get to use our wingers as wingers (ie there is a point to croissing the ball).
Worthy of note - Giroud's first season in the prem, and at the vanguard of a shit arsenal team is on course to eclipse the PL debut seson of Didier Drogba - who also followed from a good season in France but walked into a bankrolled Chelsea that steamrollered its way to the title.

Giroud is actually quite good.

[LDG]

"
* After 'wide' players Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott failed to attempt a single cross v Sunderland, they attemped 25 (four successful) v Aston Villa on Saturday.
* They were successful with a phenomenal 38 of their 42 attempted long balls v Villa with Santi Cazorla successful with all eight of his long balls. "

Giroud, rather like Bendter before him often gets into the right place at the right time even if his finishing is also wayward. He isnt pacey but he does offfer a target and we do get to use our wingers as wingers (ie there is a point to croissing the ball).
Worthy of note - Giroud's first season in the prem, and at the vanguard of a shit arsenal team is on course to eclipse the PL debut seson of Didier Drogba - who also followed from a good season in France but walked into a bankrolled Chelsea that steamrollered its way to the title.

Giroud is actually quite good.

Don't get me wrong. I like Giroud. I think he's a tidy, intellegent (and sexy) player.

I don't think we play to his strengths though.

[IBK]

IF we are considered to be a top club, then we buy a lot of shit players who we depend on. Utd has bought a fair share of garbage but they always have someone to cover up their arses and minimize the shit show. We sell our best and buy absolute junk, so our junk stinks more, since its always out in the open.

Kind of sums it up for me - whatever the reality, maybe our transfers get so scrutinised because we are dependent on their immediate success - and then (IMO) by not concentrating on their strong points and trying to make them all rounders Wenget takes away their self belief. Other teams screw up - but have the depth of squad to hide it.

But it can't be right that we are spending money wisely with so many failed players unsalable because they get paid too much. A few more Chamack/West Ham examples, and we won't even be able to loan out to EPL clubs, FFS!

And for those arguing that our habitual league place reflects directly our wage spend - don"t forget that we are supposed to have a manager whose reputation is built on development, not competitive investment. Doesn't add up for me.

[Nayan]

I thin they bet they could get away with bargain bin players and youth talent coming through while they broke the back of the stadium debt. They miscalculated on various fronts
1) that anyone could throw as much money at the league as city and chelsea did (they expected player prices and salaries to collapse)
2) that theeir players would be good enough to compete
3) that their wage structure would be able to keep their squad together and not see their best talent drained away by higher wages on offer elsewhere.

Even if some talent left to win trophies, thats all bullshit. They left becasue others paid more money. Our desire to pay well for the lower levels of the pyramid is out of whack with what it takes to retain/recruit top talent. Ironically we now have a huge wage bill with very poor value for money.
Paying diaby, almunia and denilson huge wages didnt make them better players. It meant they went from 'shit' to 'overpriced shit.'

[mastermind84]

We have the fourth highest wage bill in the country, not that far off Man United's and when you note down the difference in performance on the pitch then you realise just the sheer scale of wastage there is on the books.

while I agree with a lot of your post, this part is untrue.

ManU's actual wage bill is closer to Chelsea's and City's than Arsenal. They just hide money through sponsorship deals and offshore accounts.

Didn't stop us from signing Vela, Ryo, Campbell and Wellington Silva who had similar work permit issues and we could have dipped back in for him whilst in Greece or France but we didn't.

he didnt want to wait and sign for Arsenal.

[AKBapologist]

Not when you factor in wages.

Where would you expect someone with historically, the 4th highest wages to finish in the league over the last few years?

[Nayan]

normally there is a link between what you spend in wages+transfers and the quality/depth of your squad.

However paying almunia, bendter, diaby higher wages didnt make them better players. It made them overpaid mediocre players.

Right now we are not punching our weight