Match Reaction - Arsenal 1-2 The Cavs and their ref

[Niall_Quinn]

We need to accept the squad is painfully thin, our bench offered little today, the game was lost by the time Pepe came on

though for what it's worth i'd have brought Smith-Rowe on instead of Willock who did nothing as far as i could see

Yep. And that's down to the board. If the manager and the players are ready to give this a go and the fans are ready to give them a chance, we'll need to see the board step up too. That's where it's most likely to fall down though. Unless Kroenke starts giving a shit there's a ceiling that can't be pushed through.

[Mac76]

Yep. And that's down to the board. If the manager and the players are ready to give this a go and the fans are ready to give them a chance, we'll need to see the board step up too. That's where it's most likely to fall down though. Unless Kroenke starts giving a shit there's a ceiling that can't be pushed through.

I understand the cynicism towards the Kroenkes but i'm not totally signed up to it

They did provide funds to buy Pepe etc in the summer, and i certainly heard that they started voicing doubts about Emery ahead of Raul and co

I'm not saying they're the best owners and they don't know much about football or the PL but tbh i've not seen them pretend they do, they've relied on Gazidis, Raul etc for that and have taken bad advice on signings like Xhaka, Mustafi and also hiring Emery

The real test i guess is whether they're prepared to fund more signings in the January window as we desperately need more quality and experience in defence and midfield

And such signings shouldn't depend on selling mustafi, we ahould just get rid of him any way we can

[Özim]

I understand the cynicism towards the Kroenkes but i'm not totally signed up to it

They did provide funds to buy Pepe etc in the summer, and i certainly heard that they started voicing doubts about Emery ahead of Raul and co

I'm not saying they're the best owners and they don't know much about football or the PL but tbh i've not seen them pretend they do, they've relied on Gazidis, Raul etc for that and have taken bad advice on signings like Xhaka, Mustafi and also hiring Emery

The real test i guess is whether they're prepared to fund more signings in the January window as we desperately need more quality and experience in defence and midfield

And such signings shouldn't depend on selling mustafi, we ahould just get rid of him any way we can

Don't think they did fund the purchase of Pepe though, the cost of the transfer was spread over several years, our spending last summer in total was something like 40-50 million as reported. They deferred in the hope they'd get CL football to cover the cost, doesn't look like it's happening. So basically they've probably crippled our transfer budget in the following seasons in the hope we'd get top 4.

[Mac76]

Don't think they did fund the purchase of Pepe though, the cost of the transfer was spread over several years, our spending last summer in total was something like 40-50 million as reported. They deferred in the hope they'd get CL football to cover the cost, doesn't look like it's happening. So basically they've probably crippled our transfer budget in the following seasons in the hope we'd get top 4.

Ok, that's a fair point, but it's presumably only crippled if they refuse extra funds to back arteta in january, or is thete more to it than that?

[Bumble]

Ok, that's a fair point, but it's presumably only crippled if they refuse extra funds to back arteta in january, or is thete more to it than that?

Aren't most signings paid for over the length of contract as opposed to one lump sum. Think that is fairly standard.

Still baffled why pepe doesn't play more. Although nelson on the right has looked lively in games. But surely laca could be replaced with pepe.

[I am invisible]

Don't think they did fund the purchase of Pepe though, the cost of the transfer was spread over several years, our spending last summer in total was something like 40-50 million as reported. They deferred in the hope they'd get CL football to cover the cost, doesn't look like it's happening. So basically they've probably crippled our transfer budget in the following seasons in the hope we'd get top 4.

Correct. Or at least that’s also what I’ve read. Basically, unless we’re sitting on more cash reserves than we know about, then it’s looking like a big chunk of next summer’s budget has already been spent on financing the Pepe deal, and we’re going to have to sell before we can buy* (*not necessarily a bad thing).

I do kind of agree with Mac in that I don’t think they’re the worst owners in the world because of funding. We generate more than enough to be self-sufficient, and have spent more than most in recent years - we’ve just spend it really, really badly. In that respect I think they’d be justified in expecting the people running the club to prove that they actually know how to handle a budget before giving them more money to waste.

Where I do think that they’re crappy owners is that they’re often casual and complacent to the point of negligence, and let bad situations drag on for waaaaaaaay too long before they take action. And what’s worse is they haven’t surrounded themselves with anyone who can advise them properly - at best they’ve got Raul, but who’s monitoring what he’s getting up to. This is where they really need to get their act together and freshen up the board of directors - at the moment it’s viewed as little more than a ceremonial body, when it should be providing vital insight and oversight for Stan and Josh.

[I am invisible]

Aren't most signings paid for over the length of contract as opposed to one lump sum. Think that is fairly standard.

Still baffled why pepe doesn't play more. Although nelson on the right has looked lively in games. But surely laca could be replaced with pepe.

Who knows? Could be the pressure of his price tag getting to him? Could be he’s struggling to settle in a new league and a new country? Maybe both of these things combined with the hostile crowd and the absolute shit-show he’s walked into have shattered his confidence?

If I had to guess I’d say it’s because he maybe isn’t putting enough effort in defensively and he’s maybe a little too one-footed, which makes his actions too predictable. We know Arteta is demanding max effort as a ‘non-negotiable’, and from the training clips I’ve seen it looks like we’re putting a lot of work into drilling the players to receive the ball and play a pass in 360°, so perhaps he’s flunking both these tests at the moments (or simply isn’t doing them as well as Nelson)? Again, it probably comes down to confidence.