Arsenal Banter Archive September 24 2014

24 Sep 2014 19:37:56
Am sure Ashley Williams would not have minded being 3rd choice CB for Arsenal Would definitely have been much better than having no 3rd CB at all as we do now (Chambers was brought in as replacement for Jenkinson)

Wenger gambled too much this season. Santi, Ox, Gnabry, Podolski, Campbell are far too many attackers to have on the bench. Let's also not forget that we have Theo and Giroud to come back. He should have sacrificed two of them and gotten a proper CB and a proper DMF.

24 Sep 2014 20:14:02
To be honest I genuinely believe that Mertesacker would have been happy to be 3rd choice behind someone like Mangala had we managed to buy him.

Mertesacker accepted it would be the case for him with Germany whilst at the World Cup and I think he'd have been happy here doing his bit to win the title behind Mangala and Koscielny.

Yes we need a world class defender whos better than what we have. Mangala is better than merts in every aspect I think.

If Merts would have been happy as number 3 we could have kept Vermaleen - not likely. We need a young deputy or a seasoned vet (i.e. Sagna) to provide cover. Big insult to BFG after a great season last year - well played.

25 Sep 2014 07:38:24
So Red we should not upset any player to move the club forward because they may not play as often as they like.

We should keep players like Arteta, Podolski, Flamini and Rosicky because what?

If we had an opportunity to buy a defender of the likes of Mangala we shouldn't have.

We had Cazorla, Wilshere and Ramsey yet we bought Ozil, shouldn't we just have waited until Crowley or Zelalem were up to it.

Well played indeed. :-)

No what I am saying is if we have a great pairing in Merts and Kos, then we have the luxury of spending less on a Chambers who can develop and then spend more on a position of need, like we did with Striker. I do think Wenger left us a little thin at the back though especially losing Sagna's versatility - an Ashley Williams would be useful.

Arteta, Flamini, Poldi and Rosicky are all good players and I support them every second they play. Maybe they are aging so need rotating but that is the manager's job not theirs - he has to put them in the positions to be successful. I apologize for coming on here and be so positive about the squad I support - but that's the way I feel. My bad.

25 Sep 2014 13:55:35
Red Rooster,

I couldn't be more positive about this club if I tried, I have absolutely no problem with Mertesacker, Podolski, Flamini, Arteta or Rosicky. I love them all but by the same token I'm saying if we can improve a position, especially a defensive one, as in CB or DM then now is a time to do it.

I'm not arguing about how well they performed last year but simply if we had an opportunity to buy a Mangala or a Bender then we shouldn't let sentiment stop us progressing as a team and club.

I meant no offence and more than most appreciate that the life has been sucked right out of this page over the last few months.

Maybe I should just steer clear.

That's more like it my gooner brother! I fully agree with you.

Still think that Kos/Mert are one of the 3 best CB combos in the league and not the problem, would shore up elsewhere and also know that the boss is too loyal to put someone down who is in form. We are moving you the same direction, you and I. Cheers!

24 Sep 2014 10:09:02
thoughts on kroenke and the 3million dividend?

bad timing in my book. never liked the guy don't trust him don't want him here at all.

the day he sells up il celebrate into the night. depending on who buys him out of course :)

surley zuckerberg fancys a go at a football club. the FACEBOOK stadium. SELFIE stand. COMMENT corner. taking a walk down LIKE lane the advertisement opportunities for him are endless lol

Firstly let's make it clear it was no dividend.

Secondly the 3% ticket increase equated to roughly £3m extra revenue.
( funny how that's the amount Silent Stan has charged as an advisory fee? ) Last year Lord Harris donated his directors fee to charity. As did Stan. He donated it to the StanKroenkeWantsMoreMoneyTrust.


The AGM is in a few weeks time. Once again it will be a well produced "party political broadcast " with Stan being as loud as ever and his side kick Gazidis waffling on telling us all what we want to hear but then producing zilch. Wenger will of course answer questions, but I believe the questions will be more about what they are happy to talk about than actual real questions of concern from the share holders.
I guess we are coming upto pantomime season. Might as well start at the arsenal AGM

Ye spot on rocky. the whole thing makes me feel sick

24 Sep 2014 12:56:51
Have some sympathy for poor Stan, those £85 million ($135 million) ranches in Montana don't buy themselves. I'm sure he has a guest room for any Gooner who drops buy.

On an unrelated note I'm now charging my family a 3 million pound service fee for looking things up on Google for them. Apparently it's the thing to do these days.

Don't mind, he's done a lot for the club

YYC lol

saint arsenal- he's done absolutely nothing for the club.

“Wenger told me that, if Cesc [Fàbregas] left, I would stay, but Kroenke wanted the money. words of nasri

if we owned arsenal would we be taking this money or letting over 100million sit in the bank when we need defenders a DM and a world class striler? no

hes not interested in winning just look at the clubs he owns in the u.s champions league is his goal.

no title until he's gone I promise you, he's seen us as a cash cow. when stadium is paid off fully and the debt is gone he will cash in maybe. whos paying the interested you ask? the fans.

24 Sep 2014 20:07:04
I'm with derby on this one

I'm no usmanov fan as I don't like the sugar daddy model but I don't see usmanov taking money out and all the sheikhs have done at City is put money in, same as roman

Even the glazers are a better option than stan. Ok Manchester United aren't title contenders right now and they're heavily in debt but at least they invest to try and compete

Randy Lerner may want to sell Aston villa and may not be willing to invest but he isn't drawing money out of the club

In the greater scheme of things £3m isn't much in the scale of the clubs finances but it would be better spent on a player then on silent stand hobbies

Sooner stan goes the better

Nice one soopergooner.

25 Sep 2014 02:07:59
Yep superG and Derbygooner,you only have to see his management of his US franchises to know what your are going to get. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to bring the US franchise model here too. All profit, no relegation penalty.

Guaranga. You don't know what your talking about you just want to moan, whether it's wenger on wilshere or whoever, you just want to moan about the club. If you claim to be a supporter then support it. Right now we've got a fantastic manager an incredible ground, we can compete with almost any club in the world when signing players and the club is still managing to turn a profit. That's an incredible achievement for a football club.

Blind faith isn't supporting Saint.

incredible achievements aside, the question is weather we need/needed silent stan to get there? or if its time for him to stop dipping in?

It's not blind faith, he has stopped us plummeting down the football league, or being millions of pounds in debt like united. He's given arsene wenger, a man who could get any job in football, a secure role at the club- Another rarity. He's managed us into a place where we can push on but with the long term future of this great club safe.

25 Sep 2014 12:41:41
We just want to win, or at least be in the mix for top spot in the PL and the CL. I'm not sure that's Kroenkes first priority. And for the ticket prices we pay, that 3 million, paid to a billionaire who didn't invest in the club seems like an insult. We're the ones paying for a a wage bill larger than Chelsea's and a rumored 8 figure cash reserve.

Yyc you are correct the americans would want no relegation. that would be so so boring wouldn't it

saint arsenal we would be no worse off without stan. he's not here to win things and that's just a fact. do u think he was out all night celebrating after the f.a cup I very much doubt it. wenger has done a great job I not doubting it and he's kept us in champs league. but this was the year to go spend more but he bottled it. the money is there don't be fooled

Hang derby G so your saying our club, ran but kroenke is not only sustainable but is supplying wenger with an un spendable budget? And you want this man to leave? You mean to say that the funds are there for wenger to push on and win the league, and you want kroenke out? I'm sorry maybe I'm missing something but to me a few gooners, no fingers pointed, just like a moan

Saint yes we have the money nobody can deny it. Having it in the bank and it being released for transfer is a different thing altogether. When he sells arsenal will he make a big profit? Yes

Wenger is of course helping him and wenger is being paid very very well. Too well probably to keep us ticking over in the top4. Other clubs would not pay him to do what he's doing here on that contract. he's our highest earning staff member I believe. Tell me many other clubs where that is the case

Anyway il leave this debate for another time maybe afer january lol

25 Sep 2014 19:52:17
Saint, sorry I have to disagree

I, and all other season ticket holders, pay a huge amount every season to wAtch the games. I am grateful to we get and think he's done a brilliant job keeping us in the top 4 through the lean years

Like all supporters I have stuck with the club through those years because they are, alongside other supporters, my/our club

That does not mean I support stan. In a previous post I've compared him to the other foreign owners and explained why he is the worst.

It would not hurt the club if he went tomorrow unlike most other foreign owned clubs

What cheesed me off is watching him put prices up and taking a sum equal to the increased income out of the club

When we moved we were promised we would compete for the best players yet at nearly the 1st opportunity stan looks after himself and my gripe is that we will never compete for elite players to put alongside our home grown players till he goes and until that day I cannot see us winning the EPL or champs league

He is a businessman and interested in profits and his consultancy fees. He has little interest in silverware unless it will increase profits and enable him to increase his drawings

Like I said before, Ian no usmanov fan nor do I like the sugar daddy approach but stab is holding us back and when he goes the club will flourish (assuming his replacement doesn't follow his model and wants to win things)

{Ed025's Note - never compete for elite players SG?...ozil and sanchez?..come on mate, get a grip..

25 Sep 2014 20:57:27
Ed. sorry but by elite I mean the £60m type. Our elite is the level below

Can't see us fighting for the ronaldo, do Maria's etc until stabs gone so we will always see the very very best go elsewhere. And I am not knocking ozil or Sanchez. Just facing the fact we will not win a bidding war with stab about

{Ed025's Note - arsenal are a proper football club SG, they buy some and bring some through, i would hate them to become a chelsea or city mate, they sold their souls as far as im concerned and are plastic imo, cherish what you have fella, they are one of a select few..

Eds good words. We don't have to become a chelsea. But one star player a season won't cut it i'm afraid when others are buying two or three. We could of easily gone and got hummels and say carvalho and not blinked an eye lid. Just two players for example

Anyway roll on saturday I see welbeck scoring again. I hope fazio plays he looks terrible. If vertonghen leaves i'd welcome him here he's too good for spurs.

Spending money guarentees only one thing, lighter pockets. Look at united for example

24 Sep 2014 08:16:25
Yesterdays game has pretty much answered questions why some players are not going to start or even be on the bench. Campell whom we all wanted to see and scratched our heads why he doesn't get picked, yest pretty much proved wenger right, he offered little in attack playing in that position I doubt we will be seeing him more. Podolski has lost half a yard of pace, and rosicky for all his enthu was poor clumsy challenge for the penalty which could have been avoided. The goals conceeded were not the fault of the defense which did ok. Credit to the saints schienderlin and wanyama ran that midfield well.

Am sure you must have been in the military at some point Hood ;-). These guys haven't gotten game time in a long while, am sure it's unfair to judge them based on one start

24 Sep 2014 01:43:23
I can't believe some of your comments below.

We played Southampton not Barcelona.

I watched over paid and over ego'd prima donna's not giving their all for Arsenal tonight and that is unacceptable.

I'm not going to mention individuals but when you put that red shirt on the hairs on the back of your neck need to bristle.

Arsenal should be in their blood and if its a capitol one cup tie or a league game at home to Spurs they should have the same attitude ie win because we are Arsenal. Yes the majority won't even be in the squad for Saturday but FFS they haven't given the manager something to think about.

Ready to be slaughtered but think before you blog without rose tinted glasses.

You have probably, seen why people don't force their way into the team and inject that bit of hunger and desire, that I feel is missing this season. Its that comfortable effect again, it not productive. We want hungry players right through the squad.

I can understand to an extent the lack of match sharpness of rosicky and pod but it doesn't excuse them. They should be fighting for the regular first team spot.
I can see podolski leaving in January, with Walcott, chamberlain, gnabry, welbeck, a fit giroud plus Campbell and sanogo he won't be getting the game time. Then there are our young strikers one of whom is making a name for himself in a lower league. I know they aren't all world class players but when you look at it like that it's not bad depth for the front 3.