The shirt looked really nice as we were lifting the cup with it on Saturday.

For me they are very different. One is our best player and it would take huge amounts of money to replace what he gives the team. The other is a nice to have player but not essential in the way a commanding CB and CM are.

If Arteta's criteria for a winger is one who can play both wings, has experience of the league, won't block the progress of Martinelli and Saka and who is cheap then you arrive at Willian.

https://theathletic.com/1875792/2020/06 ... ed_article

David Ornstein's article in The Athletic about Arteta's Arsenal - article is unlocked and free to read for 7 days

Very different players indeed, Aubameyang being the most imporant of the two. But they are both 31 and both can remain fairly healthy. Willian brings big game experience. I'd rather we spend that money on a top CB or even a class DM but we will be a better team with Willian.

I'm also obviously pointing out the debate about offering a 31 year old a 3 year contract makes it seem a wee bit hypocritical if we were to offer Aubameyang one. And I doubt fans would storm the gates if Aubameyang got it.

https://theathletic.com/1735166/2020/04 ... ed_article

Another interesting Athletic aritcle on Arsenal's head of scouting Cagigao

Spurs reserve Kyle Walker Peters close to signing for Southampton for £12m following a 6 month loan. If Arsenal wanted to move on some of our younger English players there is the bench mark in terms of fee, £12m for a player with only 6 months experience.

. A couple of players said they couldn’t make the conference call. Arteta was unimpressed. He sent an uncompromising WhatsApp voice message in return.



Let’s have a guess which 2 players did this ?

Hi John,

My young lad is 15 and very fit..plays football and is a black belt in Taekwondo so you can imagine the wirey type build. He got the Adult Small size yesterday, the regular type shirt and it is in no way baggy or loose on him. Obviously, your own call but as TG said I would go with the normal shirt and buy something else with the difference.

Very disappointed; they've been fantastic this season and deserved to go up, albeit they were 2nd best last night

It would have been nice for them to have been able to christen their new stadium as a premier league club

Thanks for that dec.

Along those lines, I myself got last season’s 3rd shirt from a friend who works at Sports Direct so got it cheap. He got me a large. It was too big, so he swapped it for a medium. At my age, I was well chuffed!

If everything was equal - which I realize it isn't - that should mean Chambers and Holding are worth at least 20m each, which is precisely why I'd be looking to sell them both. Both decent players, but to me their monetary worth trumps their worth to the team as players at this point. If we could get 40m combined for two back-ups, that's serious money to reinvest into the team.

https://www.arsenal.com/news/club-update-2020

Statement from Arsenal regarding Covid, fans in stadiums, 55 redundancies are more

Hi Rich,

I know that people will say the two areas are independent of each other but it is hard to expect us to be spending millions in the transfer window when 55 employees have lost their jobs, people far more reliant on those wages than any player at the club.

I suppose the argument is that there is simply no role for the 55 at the club under the cloud of Covid but it just seems so unfair.

The Kroenkes - don’t know how people like that sleep at night. The money it would cost just to keep those folk in work for a year would be a mere drop in the ocean from his own personal wealth. How much money does one person need?

And don’t tell me the club needs to pay its way; yes it does, but this is just so Kroenke the Cant reduces his own losses. Shameful.

Sometimes I wish there was a hell.

Especially the one Aubameyang was wearing when he dropped the trophy.

I don’t think you can attack arsenal for doing this. Kroenke doesn’t put his own money into the club. Every business up and down the country is having to adapt and Arsenal aren’t different.

Yes we have players earning large sums of money but the whole club exists around what’s on the pitch. Unfortunately you can’t just ignore the realities of Covid.

Just been sacked according to Arseblog

Who needs a scouting network when you have Raul's contact book.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sports- ... rater/4868
How many of these players will end up at Arsenal this summer? Must be millions of players worldwide but we shop in this pool of 7

Hi TG,

I understand that some of those positions probably no longer even exist until things get back to normal (if they ever do) but let's say for arguments sake that the average salary of those sacked is £25k a year. That's saving about £1.3m in salaries, about £25k a week, not even the salary of a good youth prospect.

Those savings are hardly going to give us greater leverage in the transfer market.

And all the while one "employee" trousers £350k a week for doing nothing. I know Covid has forced a financial rethink on everyone but this doesn't sit right.

With the timing of this redundancy news I would be amazed if Arsenal now make any big signings. Certainly not without major sales anyway.

The salaries will be more than that. Your talking scouts and marketing and all sorts a lot more.

You can’t equate the contracts the players have signed with the salaries other staff are paid, those contracts are signed, done, kaput. Asking all the players to pay the salaries of people who no longer have a job doesn’t make sense. You need them motivated, happy and feeling like their pay check isn’t being muddled with every 5 minutes. Football is unique and the performance on the pitch drives the commercial income. Surely everyone can see this.

You can’t just ignore Covid, we have empty football stadiums and the money has to come from somewhere.

I’ll make you a little bet, a pint of strong lager says when our transfer business is done this summer our net spend is zero and we are in profit. Bet that happens

Lots of talk that the Willian deal is very close, and that if it happens there is no chance of Arsenal getting Coutinho.
Also some talk tonight from French football that we're close to Gabriel Magalhaes, young left sided CB from Lille. 22 years old, 6ft 3". Must be seen as the long term partner for Saliba and much more like the profile we need

If we can just shift some CB out the door now. Sokratis, Holding, Chambers, Kolasinac - I know some people are more tied to the younger english pair but I'm not convinced by either. None of those 4 have the pace to play in a top level defence, and don't mask it by exceptional reading of the game or organisational ability. If you really pushed hard you could get £50m for those 4. They're really surplus to requirements.

On the left side we have Tierney, AMN, Saka. At CB you'd have Luiz, Saliba, Mari, Mustafi and one more (whether it's this guy or not) 5 CB is enough, and even if you want to play a back 3 Tierney has shown he can play in that.

Emery wants to sign Guendouzi for Villarreal

This on the 55 being made redundant and other financials.


https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... a-18722368

With Saliba and Mari both being 6ft4, I'll be livid if we concede from a single corner next season.

This Gabriel character looks physically imposing at a young age, I hope the rumors are true.

KEY DATES 2020-21

Europa League Aug. 5-21
Champions League Aug. 7-23
UEFA Nations League Sept. 4-9
Premier League beings Sept. 12
Bundesliga begins Sept. 18
Serie A begins Sept. 19
Transfer window closes Oct. 5
UCL group stage begins Oct. 20
UEL group stage begins Oct. 22

I hadn't realized how long Martinez has been at the club. I'm very, very happy for him. He's going to give Arteta a tough decision when Leno comes back from injury.

I think this reflects really poorly on the club, but I'm happy the press decided to take some time off from speculating about Manchester City's next big signing to complain about morality in football.

Hi Deebo,

The article makes the same point I made yesterday, I do think it is morally indefensible to sack 55 employees when the savings that will make is simply a drop in the ocean compared to the money spent (often unwisely) on player transfers and salaries. If the saving is around £2.5m that's about 60k a week or the salary of an average back-up player.

Kroenke could have kept them on for a year, until the landscape becomes a little clearer, and it would have been no more than a little loose change to a man of his wealth.

I get the bit that some of these jobs are simply no longer there because of the effects of Covid but I feel this has done the reputation of the club no favours at all at a time of extraordinary hardship for many people.

Hey Hodd,

What on earth is going on re the scouting network. Are we getting rid of scouting in favour of a contact book aproach to signing players? I'm dumbfounded by what's going on.

Surely, the way forward for a club like Arsenal if they wish to compete with the elite clubs is to have THE best scouting network, not none at all.

Apparently the players are annoyed that 55 staff have lost their jobs because they were told the 12.5% pay cut was necessary to avoid the loss of jobs. We were the only team in the league to take the pay cut, Arteta was key in convincing the players - what does this do for the trust and confidence between players and senior management.

I think we have a really great manager in Arteta, his attention to detail his professionalism and from what I've read he's incredibly well respected by everyone and quite simply a damn nice bloke. I'm at odds to work out how Arteta's vision for the club (which seems hugely positive and correct) works with what is going on above him?

Ridiculous article.


Also what is being missed here is that the people involved would have been provided redundancy payments too, generous or not I don’t know but far better to get a redundancy payment and move on with your life than a false impression you have a job that doesn’t exist.

Also wasn’t it suggested our staff had become bloated anyway ? EDU commented how bloated the club's coaching staff had become when he joined and he axed loads of people before Christmas including Steve morrow as part of streamlining. This seems to be getting missed. I recall Arsene made some remarks that could be construed as suggesting we had way too many staff.

Feel for the people involved but it’s just realistically dealing with the reality of this horrid thing.

You are wrong on this one TG.

The amount being saved here on salaries is a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the money being squandered on agents fees, greasing the palms of intermediaries etc.

Saving around £2-3m on wages is loose change to a man of Kroenke's wealth and it is all very well saying that they will get redundancy payments but where do they get another job in the current environment.

The Krankies could have of at least waited until the dust settled a bit on the Covid thing. In a year's time things could look a whole lot different.

The gloss has been taken off the elation of a cup final win by ill-timed redundancies that reflect badly on the club.

It's morally indefensible and the timing stinks.

You can say Kroenke should have paid their salaries but he doesn’t put money into the club.

You can say Mesut Özil should pay it, but he’s contractually bound and already refused a pay cut.

You’ve already given the players a pay cut they agree to so therefore what are Arsenal supposed to do?

Oh step back investing in the team and don’t acquire new players or pay agents. Well that will definitely mean these people won’t have jobs in future.

This is happening up and down the country, what makes football think of itself any differently.

I'm sure these names are not unknown but some interesting ones among them. Wish they had more defenders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKjyx0j7R5E&t=29s

Nails it on it’s head.

https://shewore.com/2020/08/06/arsenal- ... explained/