Arsenal Banter Archive August 21 2016

21 Aug 2016 20:19:44
Well, with all the doom and gloom, I thought I'd share another plus with you all ladies and gents!

Guillem Balague says that 'Valencia do not want to sell Mustafi and Arsenal will need to meet his £56m release clause'

So with his track record of talking absolute nonsense, that's about as nailed on as you can get that Mustafi is signing!

{Ed001's Note - didn't he say a few days ago the deal was all but done? Now it is nowhere near. He really should make up his mind. Or at least get the people writing his nonsense to meet up sometimes and get their stories straight.}

21 Aug 2016 20:29:50
Don't believe him, that's as bad as believing Wenger.

21 Aug 2016 20:52:40
No disrespect to anyone but all the time people keep reading the rubbish the journalists churn out by the dozen the more they will continue to write it.
Give them and their invented stories a miss and they will stop peddling them, I know bits difficult when your desperate for some news but by giving these people hits your encouraging them to lie to you.

21 Aug 2016 21:00:59
Agree with that G62,
Best source of info is the Ed's on this page.

Well, apart from Ed041, he supports Utd, so I don't believe a word he says (hi, Chris :-)

21 Aug 2016 21:58:20
I think he did Ed!
This is the bloke who's apparently Sky's 'La Liga expert'.
Big Dave down the pub would have a better clue what's going on!

Agree totally G62, said this multiple times on here, Arsenal fans are heaven for Journalists.
We're so desperate for a signing, that the second they announce we're 'interested' in someone, half our fans jump on their page/ site/ paper and claim its rubbish and the other half jump on their page/ site/ paper and claim x player is the new messiah.

To be honest with you all lads, I'm still convinced one signing will come in, wether it's Mustafi or not.
I think maybe another could too, but we'd be very lucky if that were the case.

21 Aug 2016 22:09:46
I think people are learning from the Benzema and co stories Dags mate as this summer especially the last few weeks is the quietest I've ever known this page regarding rubbish rumour repeating.

21 Aug 2016 19:15:37
Hello Dags the way I see it if we give Thierry and Pat a go we cannot be any worse off because Wenger is acting like a novice. I no longer live in Heybridge anymore Dags I have moved further down the blackwater estuary still in Essex though.

21 Aug 2016 19:47:53
Ah, near Maldon I believe.
Heard it's quite nice there mate.

I think Thierry/ Pat is an option, but possibly after Wenger calls it a day.

21 Aug 2016 20:18:24
i live near there i'm in basildon.

21 Aug 2016 21:01:59
Stephen,
By the big "Hollywood" sign? :-)

21 Aug 2016 22:08:26
yer not far from there at all mate.

21 Aug 2016 22:09:02
live near the hospital in basildon and its got a crazy ward just right for me after this summer window lol.

21 Aug 2016 17:08:18
Arsenal fans are over reacting . They are a match for the Manchester clubs and. will most likely destroy them when they have the majority fit. It's the beginning of the season. Arsenal need a striker yes but whos available that's top class? The best strikers in the world are at Madrid and Barcelona. We have a top class striker in sturridge but he's always injured.
United got zlatlan but no other club was ever going to pay his wages. Uniteds transfer business can't be compared to any other club in the league. Noones paying that for pogba. City will struggle again if aquero gets injured which is likely given his record.
Liverpool need two fullbacks, more urgently a left back and the club messed about and lost out on Chilwell. As fans we can criticise but I can't think of many top class left backs in the game and more importantly available. It's not soo easy saying a club needs this etc.
Arsenal will most likely be towards the top of the league by Christmas.

21 Aug 2016 17:26:00
Blimey Al, you do trawl the sites don't you. I kind of agree and have posted on here that Arsenal are a couple of top players away from being a really top side.

I see many similarities now though with the end of SAF's reign at United. A Manager who is probably no longer keeping up with developments, a Manager who treats the clubs funds a little too carefully, "no value in the market". I have no idea what pressures Wenger is under from the Board but it does seem odd when everyone is splashy the cash that he seems reluctant. Fees have got completely ridiculous. Floret Pogba, look at some of the players going for £20m and £30m, it's ludicrous.

A top CF and a top CB would see Arsenal challenging for the title.

21 Aug 2016 17:44:05
Hi Big Al and AJH,
You are both correct but it's one thing saying we need a CB and a striker and another thing actually getting one.

There has been a total meltdown on this site, for the reason's stated above, let's hope Wenger and the board get their finger (s) out.

21 Aug 2016 17:47:37
A wager with you both Manc clubs finish above us, Man U are a force for sure this year, and City certainly have a spring in their step

Arsenal will be towards the top at Xmas along with Chelsea, M City, Man U, Liverpool, Tottenham etc.

21 Aug 2016 19:30:33
Just remember Banbury if they take your offer you can't then change the goal posts and say if you top the table on clean sheets lol.

21 Aug 2016 16:14:23
Give it a rest! Didn't realise this site had become exclusively for continuously moaning about our club and it's manager!
Assano now has the opportunity to play and learn in a European league, and if he has what it takes he might be able to represent our GREAT club one day.

Have faith gooners xxx.

21 Aug 2016 16:32:22
Didn't know SY4 was posting under a different name.

21 Aug 2016 16:43:39
That's right Arsene, send him to a league that doesn't resemble the EPL, great preparation

Keep digging Arsene.

21 Aug 2016 17:07:25
Banbury mate

The AKB's are getting fewer and fewer every week

The fraud has finally been found out

Roll on May 2017.

21 Aug 2016 17:12:30
Like Wellington and marida and many others who didn't make it and cost us millions, but that's ok we have loadsa money. Why buy obscure asian footballers or south american footballers and we can't even get a work permit for.

21 Aug 2016 17:47:06
That you Arsene?

Oh wait.

21 Aug 2016 18:05:23
For the record - I am not AKB

Check my posts - I believe he makes mistakes but is our best option

For me - change the model and have the board apply pressure. Don't give him enough to get top 4, give him enough to win

Keep AW but give him funds and higher expectations

Don't bring Leicester up.

21 Aug 2016 18:59:00
To be fair SY your glasses aren't rose tinted BUT you won't know he's the best man for the job until he's gone.

21 Aug 2016 18:59:00
To be fair SY your glasses aren't rose tinted BUT you won't know he's the best man for the job until he's gone.

21 Aug 2016 19:15:45
SY4 he has said himself he has the funds

He just won't spend.

21 Aug 2016 14:45:10
Hey everybody, i've been looking on this page for years but very rarely post however after the first two games I feel like I need to say something so here goes.

So it seems that Joel Campbell has singed for Sporting Lisbon on a season long loan.

I am a little surprised by this as I did think he was a good player, fought for the ball, good work rate and also done something that the World Class Theo (sarcasm) forgets to do. Make runs in behind.

On the bright side though this may give Ox a chance to finally show us what he can do.

I have always been a huge fan of Wenger and have never fully agreed with the "Wenger Out" theme that's been going on lately however I am starting to lose a little bit of faith.

I can't figure out if he has just gone completely mental or if he has something up his sleeve and will turn out to be a genius.

Im not sure how long he will have left before most fans totally loose faith in him but I'm more worried about the players losing faith.

We do have a good few players who at this point in their career will be starting to think about what could have been and may look to move away from us if things don't change soon.

I really do not want Wenger to leave, I want him to change and bring back the glory days and take that record away from Fergie for longest serving but if things carry on the way they are going I don't see it happening and I expect Wenger to go if not this season, then next.

Unless we somehow win the League and CL but I've got more chance of winning the Ballon D'or before that happens by the looks of it.

The problem is I don't know who I want to succeed Arsene.

I do think Simeone would be a good choice but there is no way in hell the board will bring him in.

There is always Jochim Low but again i'm not sure the board would go for that either.

Then there is Blanc but I don't know if he would come.

I am starting to think that we may very well be best with a slightly younger manager who can change the dynamic of the club but then again there is the risk of where we may end up if it fails.

This is all bringing about a fear of where is the club going. what are the plans for the future. how are we going to change what's wrong.

As it stands at the moment my solution (which Is a bit extreme) would be to try to push Silent Stan out of the club and get Usminov to take over.

From the interviews I have seen and read with him he seems to want the best for the club.

Correct me if I am wrong but I am sure in one interview he said if he was to take over he would invest a butt load of money into the team itself, i.e players.

Anyways that's my thought.

P. S Eds. you are all legends and the work you put into this site and the time you give to us all on all pages is just amazing and much appreciated. Keep up the good work.

21 Aug 2016 15:24:43
Welcome CJ

Good post mate completely agree, feel the same man.

21 Aug 2016 15:38:51
I support Arsenal no matter what but I believe we are at a huge crossroads, not just with the will he won't he leave or Wenger in, Wenger out scenarios but the potential for how far we could fall.

The situation as I see it is this, Kroenke leaves me in no doubt that he has no desire to push this club to be the best it can be, he further has no desire to sell to Usmanov or any other for that matter whilst he can use the club to benefit him else where.

So even if Wenger leaves will it make a blind bit of difference who replaces him? I have the distinct feeling it won't.

Then this window, you have to add every season to better yourselves, even if you win everything as Bayern Munich did a few seasons back. You cannot and must not stand still.

So if Wenger doesn't buy, not only to satisfy us the fans but players like Sanchez and Ozil we then without doubt risk them leaving at the earliest opportunity. We are then left not just needing two players to complete the team but many more.

Wenger leaves, Ozil leaves, Sanchez leaves, Koscielny gets older, Giroud is still not good enough. We are still hoping the Ox, Jack and Theo come good.

With a new manager and a total lack of the top quality a Liverpool is firmly on the horizon.

Whilst I'm not into slagging every man and his dog and using any ridiculous story to beat Wenger with I'm also not stupid enough to turn a blind eye for the potential for the above to happen and the mistakes being made.

I don't think the next 11 days of Wengers reign have been more important, were are two games in, so nothing is yet won or lost but he needs to make things happen.

21 Aug 2016 16:20:05
When Arsene leaves lots of questions will be answered one way or the other Red, but until then it's not impossible that the money is available to him but he doesn't want to use it because it would mean leaving out players to who he close to.
We all know how overly comfortable he to get with his squad, Arteta Rosicky Diarby made absolutely no commercial or footballing sense to anyone but Arsene and I bet Stan wasn't stopping him realising them :-)

21 Aug 2016 16:29:36
Welcome CJ. Good post mate.

Top post Red Dog. Absolutely spot on.

22 Aug 2016 10:21:56
Good post. Wenger's early years were amazing. He then steered us through a very tricky period, whilst we built and paid for the new stadium. The post-move stage has been a mixture. We have won a couple of FA Cups and consistently finished in the top four, qualifying for the CL every season. However, Wenger is clearly continuing along a policy of bringing through young players, unearthing cheap gems and very seldom buying top players at the rate one a season. He has, in recent times, gone into seasons with obvious gaps in his squad, yet has many technical midfield players in his squad, who all are most suited to the sole central attacking midfield role. It doesn't take a genius to work out that we desperately need at RB (assuming Debichy departs) , a CB and a striker, yet we get excuse after excuse, followed by some quite stroppy remarks. It makes me laugh when people blame Kronke, it's clearly Wenger who won't spend, as huge amounts in excess of £250m accumulate in the bank. I fear that Wenger will leave at the end of the season and under a cloud. He deserves better, but he brought this upon himself, by being so stubborn and failing to recognise that fans want 3 or 4 quality signings a year, not the 1 or 2 we have become accustomed to. If he leaves, I pray we get a top manager such as Simeone, otherwise I can see us going into decline. Boy do I miss Dein and Fiszman, who ran the club superbly.

21 Aug 2016 10:45:08
I've just seen an article where Arsene gets annoyed when asking about signings. he mentioned again that he is ready to spend on good player if he finds one. really? i'm not a scout but I can name a few on the top of my head-Lacazette, Mandzukic, Hernandez. In our situation there must be at least 100 strikers better than what we have right now.

{Ed025's Note - a million if your talking about theo slovak..

21 Aug 2016 11:26:34
Funny thing is that even Palace (no offense) spent their money on big move for Benteke.

21 Aug 2016 11:56:30
Wenger at the moment is trying to justify the situation. These press interviews are doing nothing to ease the fans' frustrations. There is a lack of transparency when it comes to information regarding signings and it is beyond a joke at times. It's a new season and fans should be excited and optimistic, instead this debacle has dragged on and is slowly stripping some fans of any interest. Bewildered at how a club with our resources and bigger finances than some other clubs finds itself struggling to find players who will " improve " our team.

{Ed025's Note - to improve on players like theo...you only need to look to league 2..

21 Aug 2016 12:14:47
That's the thing football is a, entertainment business and if you don't excite your audience they will find other things to be excited about, that fact has been lost by Arsenal football club.

21 Aug 2016 12:12:00
Aren't we trying to improve in Giroud?

Aren't we trying to get a solid partner for Kos

I don't think Benteke would be an upgrade and shows how crazy the market is at the moment

Still a little to go - sounds like he knows where we need to add. Hopefully we find someone who ticks the boxes.

I think Wenger tries to find the right quality of player who adds to the team and will spend. Eg Ozil. The challenge seems to be if we don't find that player we sometimes don't sign or compromise so we can afford the person at a later point.

We have enough to get top 4 and Wenger seems to play the long term game rather than the short term need.

{Ed025's Note - i admire your optimism SY, the long term game he may be playing could find the team too far behind within a month though mate, i would love to think you are right and that everything is part of a bigger plan but im just not convinced..

21 Aug 2016 13:06:23
To improve on Theo you only have to look to our reseves and players not wanted by Wenger

Campbell, iwobi, Ox, Garaby, and even Jeff A should all be ahead off him, should of been sold years ago.

21 Aug 2016 13:21:14
Sy4

How long does the bigger picture have to go on for, before you take the rose tinted glasses of

Your living in a dream.

21 Aug 2016 15:01:42
SY4 i am not saying that Benteke is worth money just trying to say that even Palace is spending money. and we are hearing that we will spend but there are no players available. if that is the case we should just release all scouts. but we all know where the problem is. Wenger must think that we are stupid as he is doing that every year. we have money but there is no player who would improve our team. yeah right.

21 Aug 2016 15:21:29
Slovak, sorry I was not saying you were. I was using him as an example as to how crazy stupid the market is and even 30m doesn't get you an upgrade and shows lack of available talent.

21 Aug 2016 15:38:53
SY4 I know what you mean. market is crazy but we have to deal with it. and if other teams can spend big we can too. Wenger needs to wake up and realise that there are no more bargains. even tho if Holding will carry on with his performances I would call that great piece of business.

21 Aug 2016 09:42:51
What a difference having Koscielny back yesterday. I thought Holding did well alongside him and definitely has a big future. However, imagine Koscielny alongside a mature tall strong CB. Chambers clearly needs to go on loan to play regularly and see if he can make the transformation to CB. I am not at all convinced by him, but would give him the benefit of the doubt. Sanchez ran his heart out, but he is clearly best played in a wide role.

We need a quality forward as an option to Giroud. Wenger is being as stubborn as ever, failing to recognise the desperate need for players in these two positions, as well as RB, if Debuchy, as expected, departs. Having got two difficult matches out of the way, I hope we get our season underway with a win against Watford, we then have the international break to get our players up to speed.

21 Aug 2016 09:33:47
What manager knows how many people are employed by their club

What has it come to, that he's scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses

Johnny Evans! . Don't make me laugh.

{Ed025's Note - no..thats lee evans.. :)

21 Aug 2016 09:45:33
It's a joke ed

2 games into the season and we're out of the title race.

{Ed025's Note - its only 2 games malaga but i must admit im not optimistic about a top 4 place at the moment, but things can change very quickly in football mate and we can but hope..

21 Aug 2016 10:02:02
Nothing is set in stone ed

But I can see us really struggling this season

We have a manager that is more interested in talking about money, when he should be coaching the team.

{Ed025's Note - i dont think you will struggle malaga, to get in the top 4 maybe but you still have a very good team mate..

21 Aug 2016 10:20:27
It's as patronizing as it gets. His transfer budget is set after all operating expenses, including salaries, are also budgeted for the year. Whether he spends it or not has no effect on staff salaries. If he wants to give the impression he is running Arsenal at least try to give the impression you know what you are talking about.

21 Aug 2016 10:27:41
To be fair we were never in the title race this season and as for top 4 the chances are we will do it again.
The Liverpool and Leicester results have changed nothing regards our premier league potential this season we always set the pace and drop off or put a late run together to get over the line because we are a champions league qualification club.

21 Aug 2016 10:41:40
G62 do you remember Brian cough last season

I can see us falling apart like Forest.

{Ed025's Note - brian clough died in 2004 mate..

21 Aug 2016 11:12:03
Yes Malaga mate I remember it well and I was one of those who thought they were to good to go down, so I've been wrong before and unfortunately that wasn't the only time either:-)
But I think we are subconsciously see set up to achieve champions league football no more no less and we are good enough to achieve that aim with or without new signings also I'm not sure we'd achieve much more with new signings.