Arsenal Banter Archive July 22 2016

22 Jul 2016 23:10:20
Adding to my positive post on Ivan's comments, Wenger has added this evening:

I am sure my chief executive didn't want to dampen the expectations on that front, " Wenger said after Arsenal's 1-1 draw at RC Lens in a preseason game on Friday. "We are very active, and if we find the right candidates we will spend big money. We have already spent big. "

AFC. com website also states we are active and stay tuned.

Let's give the Boss a chance before we hang him - think he has earned that.

23 Jul 2016 00:02:07
With all respect its all wash rinse repeat and come sept 1st wenger will say we could find anyone better than we have. We have been here before, its not new.

23 Jul 2016 01:43:43
They both say the exact same thing every single transfer window, how anyone still believes the lies is beyond me it really is.
Once again may I please add, please Wenger prove me wrong, I'd like a big slice of humble pie.

22 Jul 2016 20:27:22
Typical arsenal crap coming out today from the landlords. They do this regularly, try to sign this player and that player without offering any or enough money, get us all frustrated so when we sign carl kickabout, we are then all relieved because we have actually signed a player. He might be a crap player, like chamach or miachi but he's ours and he could be our superstar in the making, our wenger jewel. Well not for me boys, I know what we need, I know what we have to do and I won't be hoodwinked like some. Sorry if that upsets people but we are hoodwinked by this lot in charge. I think this season could be a bit testy for wenger and kronke, peoples patience is wearing thin.

22 Jul 2016 20:49:49
You are entitled to your opinion steve, I am going to go a different direction.

Its not the players - we have 2-3x more talent than Leicester had at the start of last year. I think the Euros were very good for us, I can't think of another premier league team with as many key contributors as us and this will help our confidence. (sure Spurs dominated the England side, but the results speak for themselves ;-)

The key for me is if we have the balance and if some of our very talented youths can contribute - I don't believe is total mercenaries, one or two is better for balance. We have Championship calibre GK, Back 4, defensive and box-to-box midfielders. IF we can get a striker that compliments Giroud (lacazzette? ) then I think we will challenge for the title. I look forward to your Christmas posts saying we can't hang in there and need to bring in more at the break.

Its a new day!

22 Jul 2016 21:07:05
Sorry red rooster, but who are these key contributors you speak of? Giroud, Xhaka, Ramsey and Koscielny were all good I'll admit, but who else? Ozil was average at best. Bellerin didn't play. Cech was poor as was Wilshere. I wouldn't necessarily say your players were great at the Euros.

22 Jul 2016 21:07:05
Sorry red rooster, but who are these key contributors you speak of? Giroud, Xhaka, Ramsey and Koscielny were all good I'll admit, but who else? Ozil was average at best. Bellerin didn't play. Cech was poor as was Wilshere. I wouldn't necessarily say your players were great at the Euros.

22 Jul 2016 21:18:47
You just mentioned 7 starters and 2 were in the finals and 2 more in the semi-finals - fill out the rest of the starting 4 with Sanchez - that leaves 3 spots for solid team guys like Cazorla, Monreal, Eleneny, Ox, Walcott etc

What other premier league team was better represented in the final 4 of the Euros?

22 Jul 2016 21:31:57
whats the Euro's got to do with the season coming

Playing well in France means nothing for Arsenal apart from the delay in players coming back.

22 Jul 2016 21:40:18
Well said Banbury

I thought all our players were crap.

22 Jul 2016 21:47:21
So negative fellas, we were second last year. if you think Leicester was a one off, that means it's conceivable that we are the favorites for the upcoming season. I believe this too be true, but would feel it more with a new striker.

22 Jul 2016 22:30:36
Yes I mentioned 7 players, not all being 'key players' that you speak of so don't twist my words please. So you're left with 4 players there, I'm sure many clubs had 4 players play well for their country. For example, I'm a Chelsea fan. We had Kante, Hazard and Fabregas play well for their countries and I thought generally our players weren't great. Besides, as others have pointed out, playing well in France means very little.

22 Jul 2016 22:40:20
Red what has the euros got to do with arsenal fc. The best player in the final got relegated with his team playing moderately to poor most games and was a super star. Playing prem league football all year is totally different. As for lacacette, what makes you think a player who couldn't get in his national squad and didnnt make the euros should be our saviour, when we haven't even signed him anyway. i'm sorry but you speaketh with ye olde fork tung.

22 Jul 2016 23:02:19
C. mon man, first of all Steve is tougher on us than you are and he is an arsenal supporter - so I don't mind the trolling.

But as far as the Euros go - lots of players build confidence from international play - too many examples to list but where would Podolski have been without international play. Lastly, already taking credit for Kante that is a laughable reach, Fabregas was pants (whatever Ozil was, it was certainly a higher level than Fab) and Hazard wasn't much better.

23 Jul 2016 00:36:04
I let you have Xhaka which you were happy to accept so I'm going to consider Kante as one of our own, after all, he won't be putting on a Leicester shirt this season. Hazard was pretty great actually, a goal and 4 assists and general play was good. Cesc was probably a reach, he was far from pants though but wouldn't say Ozil was any better.

23 Jul 2016 00:46:00
Saim cesc was pants and that's being kind.

23 Jul 2016 01:08:51
Played pretty well vs Turkey and Croatia. Didn't get to see the Italy match so can't comment on that. I did admit that Cesc was a reach though. Although it's clear to me you're biased when it comes to Arsenal players so I can see why you're anti Cesc.

23 Jul 2016 01:10:26
Just realised that was a different poster lol. Sorry Steve lol if anything you're biased against Arsenal players for some reason! Ha!

23 Jul 2016 01:40:12
Saim no i'm not being biased towards cesc, I genuinely thought he was poor. But then so were most of spain.

23 Jul 2016 01:42:23
By the way saim I know good players when I see one and i'm jelous of kante.

23 Jul 2016 08:16:48
Haha I was only messing with you Steve don't worry! You lads on here are probably my favourite other lot of fans, always up for a laugh! Yeah I noticed you got a bit upset about Wenger not being in for Kante. Must admit I was surprise we were able to pull it off! Xhaka is also a great player though so you'll be fine! Should be a great season.

23 Jul 2016 09:58:06
What they did at the Euro's bares no relevance to what they will do in the upcoming season for us. different teams, different setup and tactics. and club football is a different ball game to international. We might aswell sign Eder as our marquee striker. Pogba's performances for France were well worth £100m, Giroud won the bronze boot, and well we might aswell drop Cech because he has broke the record of conceding the most goals in the Euro's history at 21 goals 1 more than his Peter Schmeichel who had the record before. bigger picture, bigger picture. we are Arsenal not international teams.

22 Jul 2016 18:18:41
When are you all going to realise the club is playing us all as fools

We act like we're a championship side

Gazidas comments are nothing new, every year he makes the same statements

The biggest mistake the old board made was not going with Usmanov instead of Kroenke

Usmanov would never have put up with Wenger and his failed project.

22 Jul 2016 18:41:26
Correct Mal.

22 Jul 2016 19:13:04
Although I agree it's probably going to go the same way as every other season but he's not going to come out and say yes we want to chuck stupid money for a forward. Granted he probably meant what he said. Anyway everyone can moan away i completely agree with why but if this is the squad and manager we're going in with then il be behind them 100%. From our slow CB to our inconsistent CF il still keep the faith.

22 Jul 2016 20:21:28
D16 your entitled to your views, but I ran out of faith over 5 years ago

I for 1 will have a party when that tyrant Wenger has gone

I'm counting down the days.

22 Jul 2016 21:34:20
D16

There was no need to say anything, he opens his big stupid mouth every year.

22 Jul 2016 15:21:37
Listening to Gazidis ESPN, I would say he's trying to cushion the reality we might not sign a striker. if that ends up being the case it will for 100% be time to say bye to Wenger, bye to Gazidis. We'll see. 7th richest club in the world pleading poverty - it's either a tactic or just plain corruption cause the figures don't add up. West Ham and Crystal Palace throwing money everywhere, it's a joke. Seething!

22 Jul 2016 15:25:54
Which is why they are west ham and crystal palace ;)

22 Jul 2016 15:26:27
We have been "trying" to sign a striker since the 40 mil and £1 suarez effort. If we go into this season in the same position, its disgraceful for a supposedly forward thinking "top" club.

22 Jul 2016 16:09:52
I really wouldn't let it ruin your Summer. I wouldn't read anything into what winger or gazidis says it means nothing and with it been a competitive market they play their cards close to their chest we know this as fact. We all know that we will wait to see who everyone else buys first and come the end the list of targets will be either doable or not. I know it's frustrating but the world will still be here Tommorow.

22 Jul 2016 16:13:10
Hard to believe that Giroud was the last 'top' striker we bought, and that was 4 years ago.

Amazing.

22 Jul 2016 16:26:22
In an interview with ESPN, Gazidis said not spending money is the right way to go.

“This approach, for us, gives us a very, very powerful balance because it’s not just about spending money but about how you spend your money and doing it wisely.

“It’s about having a strong core philosophy and values within the club that players buy into and our fans can be proud of.

“These are all things that lead to success, and when you look at Arsenal over the last four or five years, there’s no question that the squad has been progressing in strength.

“We’ve got a squad now that we believe is capable of competing to win the Premier League.

“We came in second last year, which was disappointing. But we’re on the right track. ”

I'm calling BS.

22 Jul 2016 16:36:02
Then he said we should take note of Leicester and try to find talent in the lower leagues. speechless.

22 Jul 2016 16:50:38
Never heard of PR spin. It's hot air.

22 Jul 2016 17:36:07
You guys don't seem to understand that Wenger has infested the board and the owners with the "spirit of excuses" lol.

22 Jul 2016 17:45:53
I really do hope you are right Sanogo, because I am starting to wonder. Even as a PR exercise, it's a dumb one. Why talk your club down in the financial markets, any economist will tell you that's not clever. Plus spending money and winning things builds the global brand and attracts sponsors and a bigger fanbase. It's such a dumb strategy to go the fear method. or the tight ass one.

22 Jul 2016 17:51:27
Utter crap from the twit

These are things that lead to success? What success?

The last 4 or 5 years we've been progressing, shut up

Laughable.

22 Jul 2016 18:11:17
X X Can

A few days ago you said a major signing is very much on the cards

Have I missed the announcement?


You have just posted about W Ham being only W Ham, well matey they have progressed more than us recently and with a stadium that holds 32 people and a dog.

22 Jul 2016 18:23:11
Baggins, his comments won't impact share price etc because that's the philosophy of the share holders. I think it's about bakance and re-setting expectations. The message has always been the same. We don't buy superstars - we (sell) make them. Big price tags don't guarantee success and Leicester shows that, I don't believe he is saying that we will only buy from the French second division but that we can not afford to spend 100m on a player. Has he really stated anything new? It's just bad timing for us fans as we want a big striker. For me - I just want a quality striker that's mobile and will score goals. Don't care if he it's 500k like Anelka, 4m like Vierra or 7m like Pires or even 3.5m like Freddie. Let's see what happens before we try to kill Wenger. However, like I have always said ( Steve - you won't like it but believe you have almost said the same thing but you pull Wenger into this) -> if we want to but players like people want on this site then we don't need a change in manager but a change in ownership and businss model. It's not Arsenal that's the problem BUT the Sugar Daddies who are playing Football Manager for real!

22 Jul 2016 19:37:58
Leicester is an anomaly Sy, the reality is money on the whole buys world class players I'm all for letting youth through but for every Bellerin there's a Wellington Silva, bless him. Happy to see what happens but if we don't buy a striker we won't make top four purely on Giroud. Love Giroud but he's too slow and not dangerous enough on the break. If we are going to change style like last season, we need someone quick who can put the ball in the net. Lacazette would do, I'm not greedy. But someone who can score 20 goals or the title is not happening, and the CL is the procession of disaster it has been for the last few years. I was spoilt as I grew up with Wenger through the invincibles, so seeing this crumble is not in any way fun (for any of us) .

22 Jul 2016 13:10:19
Just seen on metro that Arsenal have signed a Brazilian called rob for 2 million, he's a holding midfielder or something. Can anyone shed any light on this.

{Ed041's Note - his names rob and he's a Brazilian holding midfielder or something :)

22 Jul 2016 14:18:50
I can hear it on the terraces now Chris.

22 Jul 2016 16:19:32
Rob Holding from Bolton?

Sanogo, where did you get Brazilian from?

(That sounds a bit personal) :-)

22 Jul 2016 17:07:23
Well rob is like Fred or Alex and I thought he was a holding midfielder! Bloody metro they always get it wrong I may as well listened to Malaga lol.

22 Jul 2016 17:08:25
It was a joke, play on words, made me smile anyway Sano. 😉.

22 Jul 2016 17:57:01
Nah it wasn't Red Dog.

Sanogo has his dopey head on today.

22 Jul 2016 18:07:26
It is Friday but I have the kids tonight and I'm been a good parent lol.

22 Jul 2016 21:23:46
Haha what do I know. 🙄😉.

22 Jul 2016 12:38:12
Dear Eds.
What with Wengers passion of liking taller! players I'm wondering if you could answer this .
If Warwick Davis turned up and was a better player than Messi and Ronaldo rolled into one. Do you think Wenger would make an exception for him.
Don't have to make it a long drawn out answer a short one will do . 😂.

{Ed007's Note - The wee dude is in Star Wars films - that's better than anything Messi or Ronaldo will ever do. Who knows, if Messi hadn't been pumped full of HGH when he was a kid he could have been an Ewok or an R2 unit.}

22 Jul 2016 15:47:54
He loves a player in the wrong position, he'd put him in goal surely.

22 Jul 2016 10:43:27
In a perfect world the following happens:

Lukaku - > PSG
Cavani - > Chelsea
Diego Costa -> Athletico (25mln)
Kevin Gamiero - > Athletico (15mln)
Griezmann - > Arsenal

Ah if only FM AND THE REAL WORLD WERE ONE AND THE SAME.

22 Jul 2016 11:02:01
Lukaku more likely to stay in England or Juventus. Cavani rumours pop up every year with no substance. Costa might go, but we'd get a much larger fee. Gameiro is the same. Griezmann has been courted by us for three years now through a third party lol, if a deal could of been done Chelsea would have wrapped it up. Think you might end up signing Lukaku though.

22 Jul 2016 11:14:29
All true - I don't think the above will actually happen, it's jsut wishful thinking. particularly as Griezman signed an extension about 2 weeks ago!

More realistica targets are players like: Cedric Bakambu?

It's a shame, when Griezman was a Real Sociedad, we could have used Vela as a bargaining chip.

{Ed001's Note - Griezmann is another of those who was rejected by Wenger for being too short. Not just by Wenger, but many clubs turned down the chance to sign him because he was not seen as tall enough.}

22 Jul 2016 11:55:27
HI Ed,

Yes - I remember that came up and to be fair there is some substance to the rationale.

Given how physical the Premier league is, small technical players really do have a tough time.

But then surely, a Tall Julian Draxler is the perfect fit :P.

{Ed001's Note - yet Zola was brilliant, as has been Kante.}

22 Jul 2016 12:20:51
The problem is if that logic is used then why do English teams fair poorly against more technical smaller European teams. A good player is a good player and will do well wherever he goes.

22 Jul 2016 13:22:33
Sano its all about balance, quality of players and the managers. The best players andthe best managers win more often. With the exception of fergie and Maureen, the best managers until this season, aren't in the prem.

22 Jul 2016 15:15:42
i honestly hope griezmann sticks around in madrid, if they add diego costa even better, its time that 2 horse race became a bit more.

besides atletico will be unwilling to sell him.

Lacazette is our best bet.

22 Jul 2016 17:36:18
I would take gameiro I think he is a good player.

22 Jul 2016 10:16:55
Assuming that Rob Holding is signing, is a striker the final signing we wil make this window? Reports say, we have £50m set aside for the right player; Who would you buy for this amount?

If our summer transfer outlay ends up at around £87m, who will be sold to reduce this outlay? Debuchy £3m?, Campbell £7m?, Ox £15m - Total £25m
This would leave a net spend of £50m ish. However, I suspect we will spend a max £30m on a striker, lowering the net spend to £30m, a figure that Wenger will be happier with.