Summer Transfers 2025 Missed Opportunities and Regrets

[Niall_Quinn]

You’re reaching I'm afraid

You might as well be saying there’s no way of knowing that I couldn’t beat Usain Bolt in a 100m sprint

If you’re simply refusing to acknowledge that scoring lots of goals is context dependent on who you are scoring against. This becomes utterly pointless. I’m not saying he’s not capable of scoring against better teams, but to treat his signing as a no brainer when it absolutely represents just a big a gamble as Sesko is silly

How does having a striker who will get in the box and belt home those sitters the rest of them are missing be a gamble? And if we go on the track record established so far, we have STERLING as exhibit A. Who the fuck was responsible for that and why would they ever be let near a transfer window again? And how have Cala or Merino actually progressed anything other than fill gaps? Arteta actually rates these players - because they are cogs of the type he prefers in his monotonously remorseless machine. Zubi's not coming here to open up the play and the flanks and facilitate high speed transition through the centre - he's coming here because he can achieve a 97.82% pass success sideways over 3 yards - can you imagine him and Odegard in the same team? Just shoot me now. We have Saka, Martinelli, Ethan, players who could do so much more than they are given license. We could use Zubi in so many creative and effective ways, deploy a proper striker in so many dangerous way, but we won't. So it's true in some respects, Gyokeres, Sesko, Vardy? Might not actually matter because Arteta will have them pottering around the edge of the box shuffling it sideways and trying to master then 74 pass sequence that end up with Raya walking it into the net.

[Niall_Quinn]

And what is there to suggest Gyokeres is capable of getting 20 goals in the league? Darwin Nunez a player who has a very similar profile to Gyokeres has managed 25 in three seasons.



You’re talking about one player who has scored many goals in the Portuguese league and one who has scored fewer goals in the Bundesliga (but on average has 27 goals in 64 games). The Bundesliga is much much nearer in quality to the premier league than the Portuguese league is. Sesko like Gyokeres has scored goals in the champions league and at 21 has a scope for potentially exponential improvement.


Sesko is far better equipped to score against in packed defensive areas because like Gyokeres he is strong, but he also has a better first touch. Fact is whatever way we play we are more likely to face tight defensive units that sit back than teams that can be caught on the counter attack

Yeah, and the goals for Sweden too - so he seems to do okay regardless of the level. Might be worth a punt seeing as we have Sterling or Merino as the alternative, oh and yes, the prolific Jesus and the lethal Havertz. Just a proper, direct, hit the ground running striker who can bang in all those goals we avoided scoring this season. If we're also doing some come-good-in-2 -years project thing then great - but not as an alternative! In addition! We can't afford to wait another season - and hopefully neither can Arteta. If he's got any sense he'll do the glaringly sensible thing and get a proper 9. Oh look - there's one available who wants to come! All that remains is to watch how we fuck it up.

[Niall_Quinn]

https://x.com/now_arsenai/status/192...k_DvSqUkaQFrjw

Yeah, don't believe that for 1 second. I'd be more inclined to believe Berta is scratching his head asking, what the fuck have I got into here?

[HCZ_Reborn]

Yeah, don't believe that for 1 second. I'd be more inclined to believe Berta is scratching his head asking, what the fuck have I got into here?

You’ll be surprised to learn I couldn’t give a flying fuck what you happen to believe

[Niall_Quinn]

There is really only one reason we are choosing Sesko over Gyokeres, and that's due to his age and imagined unfulfilled potential.

Its the same story carried over from the AW days, though at least then, most of the time we weren't paying top dollar for potential, though we always prioritised them in our first team.

What does it say about a manager, if he knows that he came close to achieving all his dreams this season but failed only because he stuck his middle finger out at the world who pointed out to him he needed goals and a striker.

Yet the same man is ready to gamble most of our transfer budget, on a "project" again and not the finished article. Why TF are we saddled with these selfish clowns that can't sacrifice just a bit of their ego to do the "needed" thing at the right time.

Sesko is a great player. Clearly talented and beautiful to watch at full flow. But so is Jesus!! I mean it's clear as day that what we we need is goals/results and not a younger Jesus. Not another Martinelli. Not another Odegaard ..... fucking results and the finished article, simple.

If Arteta took any of us, or should I say "this" seriously, he'd be going for two strikers and nothing less. The same way AW betrayed his principles and splurged for Lacazette and Auba within a year. But it was too late, the damage had been done after years of ignoring the fans and insisting their was no value in winning things any other way but his way and by his principles.

To think we are repeating the same mistake and allowing ourselves to be part of another egotrip, but this time of a Rookie who has won nothing major after 5 years and seizes us by the balls insisting his saga must be written in his own terms.

Imagine, we're going to pay almost double the price Citeh paid for Halaand for "potential" and a goal evey 3 games! Just imagine!

Don't forget the all-important sell-on fee - suddenly Arsenal is bothered by that, despite all those years of achieving around £9.50 combined sell-ons. NOW is the time to worry about that, when we have Merino in the 9 shirt. Of course Sesko might arrive and set the place on fire, or he might arrive and nobody notices for months or years, most likely something in-between. But we'll be condemned to having to watch Arteta ball through all of it, tearing our hair out watching Saka fizzing it across the opposition goal line with Raya being the closest to getting on the end of it. The sheer arrogance of not signing a striker in the last 2 windows, and now they are STILL fucking around? We're fucking around like Madrid - they didn't need Mbappe but they let an arrogant dick sign him up anyway and he ended up fucking the whole team. We desperately need a proper striker, have done since Auba left, not some vanity project. The guy we brought in to identify that striker has found him and can get him, but the arrogant bloke who wasted two windows and two potential titles waiting for his personal preference is now going to finally get his way to the detriment of everything and everyone again.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

The guy we brought in to identify that striker has found him and can get him, but the arrogant bloke who wasted two windows and two potential titles waiting for his personal preference is now going to finally get his way to the detriment of everything and everyone again.

[Niall_Quinn]

You’ll be surprised to learn I couldn’t give a flying fuck what you happen to believe

Not in the least. What's surprising is you are posting up love stories coming out of Arsenal.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Not in the least. What's surprising is you are posting up love stories coming out of Arsenal.

Yes because it’s totally unbelievable to think that Sesko the player we’ve been after for over a year was always our first target, that Gyokeres was a backup option which was the case before Berta came to the club, and that somehow this got manufactured into a battle of wills into the coach wanting one player and the director of football wanting the other. And of course you don’t believe it because it’s not in keeping with the narrative of your choosing.

I have concerns that Berta could be used as a yes man by someone who wants too much control over things at the club, and that this is why I’ve stated that we should never have allowed Arteta to grab the manager role when we appointed him as head coach.

But Sesko is clearly highly rated player so to dismiss that they thought he was the better option as a lie, is more you saying you don’t want to believe it. Which happens to be your attitude with a lot of things

[KSE Comedy Club]

Yes because it’s totally unbelievable to think that Sesko the player we’ve been after for over a year was always our first target, that Gyokeres was a backup option which was the case before Berta came to the club, and that somehow this got manufactured into a battle of wills into the coach wanting one player and the director of football wanting the other. And of course you don’t believe it because it’s not in keeping with the narrative of your choosing.

I have concerns that Berta could be used as a yes man by someone who wants too much control over things at the club, and that this is why I’ve stated that we should never have allowed Arteta to grab the manager role when we appointed him as head coach.

But Sesko is clearly highly rated player so to dismiss that they thought he was the better option as a lie, is more you saying you don’t want to believe it. Which happens to be your attitude with a lot of things

Sesko is highly rated - by whom?

Arteta, yes but outside of that most of the comments I've been hearing today is that he is actually bang average in the bundesliga and most of his games he doesn't do anything of note.

[Niall_Quinn]

Yes because it’s totally unbelievable to think that Sesko the player we’ve been after for over a year was always our first target, that Gyokeres was a backup option which was the case before Berta came to the club, and that somehow this got manufactured into a battle of wills into the coach wanting one player and the director of football wanting the other. And of course you don’t believe it because it’s not in keeping with the narrative of your choosing.

I have concerns that Berta could be used as a yes man by someone who wants too much control over things at the club, and that this is why I’ve stated that we should never have allowed Arteta to grab the manager role when we appointed him as head coach.

But Sesko is clearly highly rated player so to dismiss that they thought he was the better option as a lie, is more you saying you don’t want to believe it. Which happens to be your attitude with a lot of things

Yeah so I didn't say it was a lie, I said I didn't believe it. Gyokeres had fallen off the radar well before Berta arrived and then, suddenly, it was back on. Going on the rumour mill and press reports, of course, so true, false, whatever, all you can really do is watch who's talking about what and how frequently. Nobody disputes Arteta has been after Sesko either. But if we judge on who has been reporting what and how frequently, the Gyokeres interest sparked again when Berta arrived. And why shouldn't it have done so? That's what he was brought in to do surely? So either all the reports he wanted Gyokeres are false - could be - or the reports he's on the same page as Arteta are false. OR he's just not very good at his job, but once he sat down with the geniuses who bagged Sterling, he can suddenly see the light. Can't say which it is for sure, but I can take a stab at which is more likely.