Summer Transfers 2025 Missed Opportunities and Regrets

[IBK]

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 )
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

Very sage points, and I agree that the handbrake is being applied by KSE, and not the result of any ineptitude on the part of the manager or Berta and his team. My belief is that the owners see success as a nice to have rather than an imperative - and are intrinsically risk-averse, which is bad news for any real feel good factor around our club.

[Mac76]

It's total BS to blame the owners - these guys paid £100m+ on ONE PLAYER when asked

they quite palpably (and misguidedly) place their trust in those they appoint - in this case Berta and Arteta - to be both competent in getting deals done and also to choose the right players.

It's not the Kroenke's fault if we go and pay asking price for Madueke then argue ad inifinitum over small print regarding the biggest signing we need to make this summer

[HCZ_Reborn]

Very sage points, and I agree that the handbrake is being applied by KSE, and not the result of any ineptitude on the part of the manager or Berta and his team. My belief is that the owners see success as a nice to have rather than an imperative - and are intrinsically risk-averse, which is bad news for any real feel good factor around our club.

Sadly, I 100% agree with this

[Mac76]

Sadly, I 100% agree with this

Rank hypocrisy

you used to attack Arteta on a daily basis, you even said you 'hated' him - now you defend him and agree with IBK's demonstrably inaccurate statement that the transfer issues are"not the result of any ineptitude on the part of the manager "

was it Kroenke who decided to sign Merino? or Calafiori? or indeed most of this summer's defensive signings which you've said were unnecessary?

or Madueke for full price?

[HCZ_Reborn]

https://x.com/duncancastles/status/1...k_DvSqUkaQFrjw

This seems slightly different from what I’ve suggested, that the club are not wanting to pay out lump sums each time Gyokeres meets a goal scoring landmark, and would rather pay fixed amount in instalments. Again people can choose to believe something silly like the coach (who I don’t like but I don’t really see how that’s relevant to anything here) is deliberately placing road blocks on a transfer that’s been mostly agreed or they can recognise that no matter what we’ve spent on individual transfers in the past, there is a level of spending which KSE do not want us to go past, because to them this represents a financial risk to their asset.

[Mac76]

he's the manager not the coach (nice try) so it makes a difference - I'm very happy to admit that maybe i go too far to say Arteta's blocking it but I wouldn't rule out his somehow playing into the intransigence - after all the Kroenkes' valuation of the 'asset' would partly be based on how much the manager rates him right?

So for them to pay full asking price, Arteta must have said 'Maduake's worth every penny of £52m so let's not bother bargaining' or equally he went to far greater lengths than most people to try to get Mudryk, and it was only Chelsea's crazy spending that stopped him

You aren't objectdive about Gyokeres but you can't tell me he's not as good a prospect as Mudryk and yet Arteta was willing to spend much more (especially with inflation taken into account) on Mudryk than he is on Gyokeres - about 10m-15m Euros difference I'd say

[HCZ_Reborn]

he's the manager not the coach (nice try) so it makes a difference - I'm very happy to admit that maybe i go too far to say Arteta's blocking it but I wouldn't rule out his somehow playing into the intransigence - after all the Kroenkes' valuation of the 'asset' would partly be based on how much the manager rates him right?

So for them to pay full asking price, Arteta must have said 'Maduake's worth every penny of £52m so let's not bother bargaining' or equally he went to far greater lengths than most people to try to get Mudryk, and it was only Chelsea's crazy spending that stopped him

You aren't objectdive about Gyokeres but you can't tell me he's not as good a prospect as Mudryk and yet Arteta was willing to spend much more (especially with inflation taken into account) on Mudryk than he is on Gyokeres - about 10m-15m Euros difference I'd say

Ok we will do this once only because surely whatever else you disagree with me on, you must agree that it’s a total waste of your time engaging, I don’t especially want to talk to you because you’re as much a time thief to me as I am to you.

I’m just going to explain my position. Arteta has stated (and it’s something I agree with him on) that we are clearly in need of numbers in the playing squad. Therefore it makes sense to conclude that the add ons we are haggling over is money we feel we’d like to be able to spend elsewhere. It’s also not a contradiction to state that there are the times the Kroenkes have been generous, but equally they want to make sure the club is not risking FSR/FFP (it’s not close at the moment but their argument is why take the risk). If Arteta outright didn’t want to sign Gyokeres, it’s unlikely we would have bid for him to begin with (me saying coach is not trying to diminish his influence, but although the roles are different the terms can be used interchangeably). The thing is we were linked with Gyokeres before Berta even came on the scene, so whilst Arteta’s preference is Sesko it seems unlikely that he would press the club to spend more (which he has by talking about what we need) and then sabotage a transfer.

I don’t think anything I’ve said about Arteta is contradicted by the above, If I said I hate him it was in a fit of pique, I openly admit I don’t like him as a coach but I don’t like you either, but if you were accused of something on here by someone else that I thought unlikely, I would say I thought it unlikely.

Not everything is a battle of wills, I’m not trying to get one over anyone. My opinion on Gyokeres is obviously completely subjective, what I’ve said above is equally an opinion. Whether you want to accept it or not is up to you, but I think what I’m saying is about what I think is the case more than what I hope to be the case (by that I mean if the problem is Arteta and Berta rather than KSE, it’s clearly an easier problem to remedy).

Can I go back to ignoring you now?

[Mac76]

Arteta has stated (and it’s something I agree with him on) that we are clearly in need of numbers in the playing squad.

gosh how bold and insightful of you, I hate to burst your balloon but you won't find anyone anywhere who would disagree with that statement

whilst Arteta’s preference is Sesko it seems unlikely that he would press the club to spend more (which he has by talking about what we need) and then sabotage a transfer.

Not at all, in January he suddenly started saying that to sign a striker was really urgent because we'd lost Jesus, which was total BS on his part which too many people bought into - a) he should have made sure we bought a striker last summer and b) failing that it should always have been a priority for him in January before the Jesus injury and c) the idea that losing Jesus, who can’t hit a barn door anyway, makes a difference is ludicrous to anyone with eyes

In other words he just bullshits to take the blame off him – tbh you can already see he’s starting to be a bit equivocal about new signings: “Andrea [Berta] and the team have done an excellent job as well, trying to push everything forward. There's still a long time to go in that window. We have a lot of hope that we can still improve the team. We're going to continue to try to do that.”

That’s not the same as saying “we will definitely get more new players because without them we’re winning jack shit”

He's just lining things up to say "oh dear Andrea f**ked up but never mind I made sure we got Madueke"

I don’t like you either

(sorry it just makes me laugh every time)

Not everything is a battle of wills, I’m not trying to get one over anyone.

that would be a first

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

https://www.skysports.com/football/n...triker-targets

Apparently Man U have made up their mind that they will still go into the market for a no 9, despite their favoured pick being technically available but still acting pussy whipped (seems we've still got a bit of rizz ).

Let's see how long it takes them from identifying their new target to completing the deal.... as you can expect my money is on them wrapping up their signing before we do ours

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

gosh how bold and insightful of you, I hate to burst your balloon but you won't find anyone anywhere who would disagree with that statement



Not at all, in January he suddenly started saying that to sign a striker was really urgent because we'd lost Jesus, which was total BS on his part which too many people bought into - a) he should have made sure we bought a striker last summer and b) failing that it should always have been a priority for him in January before the Jesus injury and c) the idea that losing Jesus, who can’t hit a barn door anyway, makes a difference is ludicrous to anyone with eyes

In other words he just bullshits to take the blame off him – tbh you can already see he’s starting to be a bit equivocal about new signings: “Andrea [Berta] and the team have done an excellent job as well, trying to push everything forward. There's still a long time to go in that window. We have a lot of hope that we can still improve the team. We're going to continue to try to do that.”

That’s not the same as saying “we will definitely get more new players because without them we’re winning jack shit”

He's just lining things up to say "oh dear Andrea f**ked up but never mind I made sure we got Madueke"




(sorry it just makes me laugh every time)



that would be a first

You deserve a scout badge for seeing through the bullshit.