16 Aug 2017 21:16:09
If Arsenal sell The Jack of all positions master of none (The Ox) Will Arsenal replace him with a player who is suited to a specific position? The Ox has played wing back, winger and cm. For me he's over rated by a section of Arsenal fans. I think he offered hope during our worst spell last season, but even then he was still poor. Its no coincidence our poorest defensive form coincided when he was in CM. Constantly out of position. Also he always takes a half to get into rhythm which is really frustrating. If we can get £35-40m for him I think we should get a CDM or FB who can actually "tackle" and understands the role. I'm just fed up of Wenger trying to fit the Ox in when he's not a better full-back than Monreal or Bellerin, neither does he stick to his defensive responsibilities when in CM. Let Chelsea spend £40m on a squad player and we get a first teamer. Any suggestions?
Arsenal Banter Archive August 16 2017
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16 Aug 2017 15:10:49
I find it interesting how people say we should spend money in order to improve the team but if you look at past transfer windows we have actually spent a lot of money but on players who haven't really improved us. For example last season we signed Mustafi, Xhaka and Perez for huge sums but arguably all of them were flops. The season before we signed Cech who has been okay and Elneny who's basically just a squad player and definitely not an improvement. And the season before we signed Alexis, Chambers, Debuchy, Gabriel, Welbeck and Ospina. I would say only Alexis has been a success. So 11 players in three years out of which only one hasn't flopped, no wonder we're going backwards. Kolasinac and Lacazette seem promising though so interesting to see if they can help us improve and hopefully we will still find a couple players but my point is spending money just for the sake of it gets you nowhere.
16 Aug 2017 17:16:51
Iceman you are spot on
Wenger is responsible for signing all those players
The buck stops with him.
16 Aug 2017 17:22:08
I would say spending on the wrong players is the problem.
16 Aug 2017 17:35:20
On the bright side it's only 131 days until Christmas. 😜.
16 Aug 2017 17:46:18
I hope I never post something Malaga agrees with 👀.
16 Aug 2017 18:27:05
Malaga with a spot on comment!
16 Aug 2017 18:27:50
Following up on Steve's post, the year we bought Ozil, we should have splashed on Higuain.
16 Aug 2017 18:46:56
Alex if we'd brought Higguain and Ozil that summer wed have been champions at least in 2016 and probably 2014 too imo. Lack of investment coupled with far to much loyalty to players who were either past it or never quite up to it has been our undoing, no disrespect to players like Rosicky Artetta or Theo and Ramsey it's not there fault we offered them the contracts it's our fault for giving them away without merit.
16 Aug 2017 19:39:22
Think it is harsh to say Xhaka and Mustafi (give him time, was amazing at the start) are flops, but yes for the most part I agree. Wenger has spent far too much money on players that are simply not good enough, whilst other clubs have invested similar amounts on players who have proven much better/ made a much bigger impact. Alternatively, you could see it as Wenger buying good quality players, but poor management has made them look like poor buys. Who knows.
16 Aug 2017 20:46:38
Bellerin, Nacho, Kos, Per, Alexis, Kola, Giroud, Ozil, Mustafi, Coq, Ox, Santi, Holding
Lacazette. Rambo,
Yes some bad ones but he's done pretty well on a budget.
16 Aug 2017 20:59:41
There is little question we haven't got the most out of Mesut anywhere near often enough Colney mate, Ozil arrived a superstar and is now in his prime but not exactly top of anyone's wanted list, shame because he is such a class act that should have took us up several notches but we seemed to buy him them not really know what to do with him so we stuck out wire left for absolutely ages so Caz could stay in the middle.
16 Aug 2017 21:00:29
Take a step back guys and give Wenger a break.
For me, the environment changed between 2006 and 2015, because we were under financial restrictions (the construction of the Emirates) , at a time when a lot of money was injected into English football.
“We had less money, we had to sell our best players, whilst other teams were strengthening… sometimes with our players. But the expectations were exactly the same.
"To be completely honest, I have never worked more than during this period, between 2006 and 2015. I had signed a five-year contract, because the banks required it whilst we were building a new stadium.
“We had absolutely no guarantees and I went to the end of my contract because I wanted to respect this challenge. But it was difficult. I am proud of what I have done. ”.
16 Aug 2017 22:28:11
To be fair SY we could all quote Arsene to show him in whatever light we want to show him in.
There are so many quotes to choose from to suit any argument you want mate.
17 Aug 2017 03:22:27
The team is capable of competing for honours. Recent signings you could consider upgrades haven't made their marks because the squad has a deep lying mentality that mediocrity is okay. Show up to training, maybe have a bit of a kick about on the weekend or midweek if they're unlucky, collect a big fat pay check.
16 Aug 2017 14:41:22
With so much interest in seri from other clubs i doubt that we will get him. My question is are we interested in Vincent Koziello? personally i believe he could be amazing alongside Xhaka as he is very similar to santi but with better defensive skills.
16 Aug 2017 13:55:07
well done juve on matiudi signing. bargain.
16 Aug 2017 14:53:07
Are you trying to wind me up derby. Lol.
16 Aug 2017 15:51:24
Derby mate, for the reported 18m what a bargain Juve gor. Seriously well done. that's how you businesses are done.
16 Aug 2017 17:18:55
Derby mate what happened to us signing lemar soon. Is he stuck behind hiquain and benzema in the Medical line.
16 Aug 2017 19:21:35
Good price but he's still 30.
16 Aug 2017 11:56:37
I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to hold on to the three contract rebels, purely for the fact that if they stay and play well we could maybe let them go in the January window if we are in a good enough position.
16 Aug 2017 12:58:53
It's a no win situation for me. Arsene will be slated for keeping them and slated if we sell.
16 Aug 2017 13:13:20
If we keep them until January, they will have little value as clubs can agree a deal in January and sign them for nothing for the following season. I can't fathom out whether Wenger is playing a blinder and will sell these players knowing he has replacements lined up or if he seriously believes it's worth losing fees in excess of £100m for the them and having to replace them next season and take the risk of having three players at the club that won't sigb new deals. All will be revealed. The third option is that all three have agreed deals and these will be revealed as the window closes to give the club and its fans a boost.
16 Aug 2017 13:41:03
its a difficult situation and knowing that either way we could lose money, but am honestly hoping there might be some truth it that RG61, be a great boost for the rest of the season, if we keep them we are in with a great chance this year imo, and its like you said D16 we will be slated either way, the media love us lol.
16 Aug 2017 13:48:08
There is a 4th option RG that being there is no plan at all and the club is running on a day to day basis? To me this seems the most apparent.
16 Aug 2017 13:54:12
keeping them is a mistake imo. them three leaving on a free next summer will set us back years.
16 Aug 2017 15:02:39
I just wonder why people are so calm on the subject. With the lack of champions league revenue, the prospect of losing 3 of our better players worth on the open market about 200 mil next season. It's an absolute money time bomb waiting to come back and kill us. I don't know what game Wenger is playing but if it was one player then we could handle it but because it is so many we have our hands tied. If they stay I have no problem with them performing, They are on the shop window and have to perform. It's where we are left when the shat really hits the fan. The circus that is around arsenal at the moment is shameful. I don't like what is going on, it's not good which ever way you try to defend it. And you can't defend it.
16 Aug 2017 14:57:50
Gunner62 - I think or would like to think that there us some sense in Wenger's stance in respect of these players, He is now saying that Wilshere, also in the last year of his deal, will be kept at the club whilst his deal runs down. It makes sense to keep Wilshere as he can fill in for Cazorla, whilst he is out injured, although taking his age and recent injury history into account, I cannot fathom out why Wenger extended Cazorla' deal. This means that we could lose four players for whom we could get approaching £150m for, could walk for nothing at the end of the season. This makes no sense whatsoever for a manager that has been so cautious when spending the clubs money. There must be more to it than meets the eye.
16 Aug 2017 16:08:07
I now seriously wonder if there is any kind of real planning at the club RG, all these contracts running out we are constantly caught out in eeak positions on the pitch that everyone pointed out before the season kicks off each year but we fail to address them until a couple of season later when they have been exposed time and time again. I'm not sure there is much forethought go into anything but the next day at the club right now.
16 Aug 2017 16:42:15
Wenger said the same a couple of years ago about Persie and Fabragas and what happened they were sold, Arsenals board will not allow Sanchez, Ox and Ozil to run down their contracts and leave for nothing, they either sign new contracts or are sold, agents of course will play a big part in this trying to line their own pockets, i personally feel Sanchez and Ox will go, but will stay as their is no interest in him from anywhere.
16 Aug 2017 16:58:02
We may have been trying to extend deals for sometime, but these days players are well represented by shrewd agents who maximise their earnings and clubs that pay absurd wages. Hence the problem.
16 Aug 2017 17:32:30
Jeff and did we manage to replace those players. No.
16 Aug 2017 11:28:33
Hi Eds, If sanchez is really all about playing football and winning would you think that offering a contract with an increased wage and clauses based on success be more applicable to him, e.g if we fail to qualify for cl this year he can leave for £x abroad, if we don't win the league by 20xx he can leave for £x to any club etc.
{Ed001's Note - no, what he wants is the club to invest in playing staff, not give him bonuses.}
16 Aug 2017 12:28:08
Exactly. Nothing to do with money, it's all about ambition.
Sadly, our's doesn't match his. As this window is proving.
16 Aug 2017 13:50:59
Thanks, I know no player is bigger than the club. However most successful teams are built around a player or two and alexis is one that you could build around. This could be a massive turning point for the club. Stick with him, get rid of the deadwood and invest or let him leave and find someone else to build around. With the players available to build around being priced too high or uninterested surely the board has to see sense and take the club. In direction he wants.
Investing in players with a winning mentality and ambition is not just a short term fix but better for the club in the long run even once he leaves.
16 Aug 2017 13:54:45
fair play to the lad my fav player in world football.
16 Aug 2017 14:41:34
Sanchez leaving for the right reasons will eventually be a good thing for the club even if it does mean short term loss.
He is a fantastic player and has given us fantastic service the most disappointing thing is some Arsenal fans will now turn on him and trash his ambition as greed in order to preserve the bubble they live in when all the fault of this situation lays 100% with the manager and club.
If we had changed management this summer would Sanchez be leaving would Ox be looking to get away and Ozil too or would new ambition from a new manager have given them a reason to think again ? We will never know.
16 Aug 2017 14:23:50
OMG are you serious Derby, your fave player in football is actually an Arsenal player, surely you're just teasing us? 😉😂👍🏼.
16 Aug 2017 16:06:52
I'm not sure if wengers ambition is in question, I genuinely believe he wants to win and be successful. I think maybe he has forgotten how to win and become swept up in his view on how football should be played and needs someone to assist him.
Successful transfers since deins departure? Sanchez probably the only one and I think his ambition and desire to win was a bonus that wasn't the reason for signing him in the first place. No one can deny wenger can spot a talented attacking flair player and nurture them into a world star, however teams are not built on 11 star players. Look at England with Beckham, Gerrard, lamp arduous, cole.
16 Aug 2017 16:09:36
Oops. And the galacticos. Then look at Leicester and atletico teams with a couple of stars and the other 8 or 9 players are hard working determined players who will up their game in order to make the stars play to their full potential and not look for the glory themselves.
16 Aug 2017 16:48:44
Hard working hasn't been a phrase used about Arsenal much over the last few years, we seem have a team of " all stars in their eyes "
And tonight Mathew I'm going to be Pele Maradona Zico and not a Gliberto or Parlour in sight.
16 Aug 2017 10:41:39
Anyone knows what's going on with Cazorla? It makes me sad that his Arsenal career was ended by an injury. I reallly liked the little fella he made us tick in the previous seasons. Not sure he would fit in our new formation tho. Wish him all the best.
16 Aug 2017 06:58:12
It's very interesting that Wenger is insisting that our three contract 'rebels' will be kept at the club whilst their contracts run down. This stance is either a bluff to increase their sale price or the club are willing to blow a potential £100m+ in transfer fees. I suppose if we do keep the players, it gives us a few months to try and negotiate new deals for them, whilst having them avaialble to play. The downside is the loss of transfer fees, plus they will need replacing for next season.
16 Aug 2017 09:39:37
I'm not sure if Ozil is among those looking to run down his deal but if he is Sanchez Ozil and Ox all reluctantly playing for the club?
That can't be good for anyone them, their team mate or the atmosphere at the club add to that a bunch of squad players all working thier notice too it hardly promotes a spirit of commitment and all hands to the wheel attitude does it, and let's face it when it comes to showing commitment on the field we haven't exactly stood out in that department for quite a while now so I'm not sure we can afford to have so many players at the heart of the club who's minds are already on next season with thier new clubs.
Personally I think it's a big mistake keeping so many players who no longer want to be here not only financially but in all ways.
16 Aug 2017 10:01:39
This is why I feel if we are welling to let Sanchez go for free next year we should get his replacement this year so by next year will be up and firing. As for ozil and the ox I think both will sign new contracts.
16 Aug 2017 10:41:54
I think the Ox wants out Moe mate and Mesut is certainly dragging his heels and losing a lot of money from his increaed salary by doing so, every week he delays is costing him 10s of thousands of £s if he's going to simply sign anyway.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it doesn't look like any of these 3 players see their future at Arsenal for any longer than absolutely necessary in which case selling has to be the best solution rather than simply letting them walk away for nothing after a season of going through the motions, if we do this the only winners are their next clubs who save millions in transfer fees.
16 Aug 2017 10:52:13
Thing with sanchez, let's say we keep him and the transfer window is closed, is he really going to turn down a new contract worth 300k+ and miss out on all that money for a year? As we saw with DDG at manu once the madrid deal fell through, he also had 1 year left on his contract and signed a new one once the transfer window had closed.
16 Aug 2017 11:27:04
But how much would he earn next summer with clubs not needing to find a transfer fee? And would he really commit to a club he doesn't want to be at for short term gain long term loss?
Money aside Sanchez want to compete for top honours he isn't happy with 4th place chasing and the fa cup, Arsenal and Sanchez are not on the same page when it comes to real desire to be and achieve all they can, the club see 4th place as sucesss Sanchez doesn't so there is no common ground only talk of sharing common ground which obviously Sanchez has heard enough of.
What has the club done this summer to show him they want the future to be better than the past? Very very little and as we all know what the club says and what it really means are quite often very different.
16 Aug 2017 00:30:03
How about selling Sanchez to PSG for Matuidi and Draxler - through them 20m and move onto CD!
We cannot sell him and no time to replace
I would think the above helps both sides and really helps our starting 11.
16 Aug 2017 09:52:47
Do those two players want to join us? Are we happy to pay their wages? Do PSG want this?
If only it really was as simple as playing a computer game :-)
Unfortunately human beings tend to be a little less compliant than computer programs SY.