How on earth can you imply Mertesacker didn't work out?

Woods has improved so much as a player over the last 18 months. If he were a little bigger he'd be a target for top clubs. Sadly the Bees operational model means players have a habit of leaving just as they prove themselves. Bloody great start to the season though, and if the boys up front can be more productive than last season, the playoffs is definitely possible, even with the comings and goings.

Mertesacker was hardly a punt. Guy was an established regular for Germany with a lot of experience. Comes into the category of a good signing rather than unearthing a diamond or a truly great player like Sol. Arteta in a different way is similar. Both were good players, great pros and decent stop gaps, but neither would get near a best 22 of the last 20 years.

Whatever category you want to put him in, he is worthy of a mention as a fine signing. Hoy completely ignored him.

He was a good man for the club, but by the time Per came to us he was not what I think of as a top tier centre-back. Certainly not in the way that Terry, Carvalho, Rio or Campbell were. Enjoyable man all the same, and somebody I am glad wore the Arsenal shirt.

The Gooner is suggesting my best case scenario i wrote yesterday is the one that will be happening only with 2.5 million more per annum than I suggested at 12.5 ... this was their tweet ...


“For the foreseeable future Stan Kroenke / KSE will only pay off interest on the loan he has taken out to fund acquisition of Usmanov's Arsenal shares. Means £12.5 million a year will need to come from club turnover as KSE have no other source of revenue”

So basically 46% of the growth of the new kit supply contract with Adidas will go to paying of a mortgage our rich owner took. 12.5 million is the annual wages of 2 or 3 world class players btw,

AST have suggested that arsenal have already paid 650 k or something in legal fees as part of the takeover. So it’s hit us already.

This also doesn’t cover the doomsday scenario which in the case of needing cash for this huge stadium KSE are building in LA they grab cash from one pot in London and hand it over to the construction project. (Remember how desperate we were at one stage for cash when building the Emirates)

I think this all points to the possibility of us no longer competing at the highest level anymore as we will be paying off stadium loans, interest only mortgages from Deutsche Bank and god knows what else rather than investing on the pitch. It’s an absolute *%^@*** disaster

Cheers Daz

who are we talking about here Emery or Wenger .... ?

as did plenty of opposition attackers

I'll leave you to decide!
https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/searc ... ction=view

Kiwi - Trucks, Rosas and Hidalgo. Some forward line.

https://youtu.be/sAT6yPmTvII

Seems like Perez has gone to West game, £5m. Pennies even if he is 29.
We really have to sort out our selling. It may take some time to shift what we can as soon as we can and then start a better strategy for brining players in and not paying them so much that they are impossible to shift on for any decent price.

What spiteful bollocks. Utter claptrap too.

Harry Redknaph - you needed a cockney interpreter

There are those that would say the one with the “better”English skills talked football gibberish in recent times anyway

There seems to be very little agreement over Vida. Rich said he played well at the World Cup, as does a friend who isn't on the forum. But I've seen socrates and others who clearly don't rate him. Anyway, last day of the window so I doubt too much will happen with Arsenal. Which means, of course, if Ramsey and Welbeck don't move they're heading fast to being able to go on a free transfer next year.

Carl Jenkinson might be on his way to Swansea. Amazingly he still has 2 years left on a £45k per week contract!

I haven’t seen anything of Vida, and hadn’t heard of him before the World Cup. I think he did the basic things well, he was aggressive, not bad for pace, good in the air, strong in the tackle and formed part of an organised defence that went to the final and stopped Messi and Kane.

Football is littered with players who have a purple patch a tournaments and bomb after. The worry for me is that at 29 why hasn’t he had a big club in for him before, and would he be having clubs after him now without a few good games at a World Cup?

It does seem strange to let a Chambers go without having another CB basically lined up to come in. Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding and Mavropanos do not, for a variety of reasons, look like the greatest of CB options. To me Holding is the one who needs to loan spell but some people are suggesting his ability to play left side CB is the reason we kept him.

Perez has joined West Ham on a permanent deal. Presume that means we're keeping Welbeck.

Apologies for sounding like a broken record but not signing a left back is utter madness. If Nacho gets crocked (and is already apparently) we are down to AMN playing there. Totally unfair on him and teams will tear us a new one down that side. Cannot believe Emery can't see that.

Haven't seen anything as undeservedly vicious and cruel since people laughed at Clichy for deciding to read the final report of the Chilcott Inquiry rather than pass the ball in the closing stages of a NLD.

I'm pleased to hear you now think that Daz. Credit to you for that.

I'd take Clichy at left back now if the alternative is playing AMN there for any length of time

Disagree. I think AMN is a decent player as it stands and will only get better. I would prefer him there to Kolasinac who I think is a bit of a lump.

Lucas Pérez departs

Arsenal have sold 29-year old Spanish forward Lucas Pérez to West Ham for a £4m initial fee.
He becomes player number 11 to leave the club this season, taking Arsenal's net spend to -£64.5m so far.

I am not disparaging AMN in any way, I thought I was pretty clear on that. I think he is going to be a fine player for us. But he's not a left back and it is unfair on him to expect him to be one.

I want us to play an actual left back in the left back position.

What's actually wrong with Monreal? I thought he was our player of the season for 2017/18.

if he's fit Bernard there's nothing wrong with him, and I agree with you re last season. But if he's carrying an injury and the cover for him is a midfield player it's not ideal is it.

Hmmmm......
Everton just spent a shed load of cash in a last minute dash. I wonder who funded that business?

Letting chambers go and not trying a new CB seems odd and ill planned.

I think we had a recall clause, if we have I can see it being activated, if we haven’t I can see us desperately needing another CB in the jan window.

Stan has made an enemy by shutting Usmanov out, that could be a mistake as Everton funded by Usmanov are obviously a big threat to Arsenal getting back in to the big 4, they should have worked together and although I think Usmanov is a sh*t for selling to Stan, Stan created this situation and hopefully it may be what ultimately makes him sell up when (if) the fans begin to seriously turn against him when we are languishing in midtable.

He can't just move the club like he does in the US when things turn sour, well I guess he could try but where would he move Arsenal?, it's just not plausible.

I think we're going to have ups and downs this year as Emery gets his ideas across, no doubt we'll have to be patient, which after years of Wenger telling us to be patient and 'judge me in May' might seem hard to swallow for Arsenal fans. Emery will need time, Pep needed time with an infinite budget.

I would love us to get back in the top 4 but it might not be realistic, our best chance would be to overtake a stagnant spurs and a haphazard chelsea. The other way back in to the Champions League is obviously the Europa League. I'd be surprised if Chelsea and ourselves aren't favourites at the moment, it just depends who drops down from the CL groups - but it shouldn't be too taxing for us to make the QF by still resting a lot of players.

I want to see the following this year:
Evidence of off the ball work, high press and high tempo
Better results against the top 5, including some tactical plan of how we beat these superior teams
Better team organisation defensively ie: none of the hopeless 'no idea' defending and huge holes in our central midfield
In match changes and tactical tweaks from the manager when things obviously aren't working

Just read Fulham have spent over £100m. That is crazy for a newly promoted club with a tiny ground

What’s jenkinson going to do for 12 months with the window shut? Play tiddlywinks literally

Appreciate the thought ..... little bit too much like a jam session for me Old Man ... they all seem to be wrapped up in doing their own thing .


Have a go at this turkey , his facial expressions are a bit loopy but he sure as hell can play a guitar .. love the way he switches from "Pipeline" into " Walk Dont Run "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bHWhbu_mbk

Well that certainly got the desired response ..... my mate Arsenalia seemed to think it was okay ...

Just a gentle jibe knowing full well anytime Mertesacker or Clichy get a mention you come racing out of your lair like some demented trap door spider .

Nice little glass of NZ Sauv Blanc watch Episode 200058 of "The Sweeney "..... calm will be restored

My early season prediction, both Manchester sides and Liverpool battle out for the title finish top 3. We get 4th, Tottenham and Chelsea batle for 5th and 6th.