I think the Josh statement is PR drivel, but when he said fans should be excited by the incoming transfers he is saying something which supporters can and will measure him by. If the signings turn out to be unexciting it will make people even more sceptical.

If the Spanish midfielder Celballos or whatever comes that’s a loan without an option to buy. Why on earth would anyone get excited by that? It’s just cobbling an 11 together. It’s also a written admission the club screwed up with Ramsey

Your 100% right

Why are we getting statements from Josh Kroenke when Stan Kroenke is sole owner of KSE, of which (sadly) Arsenal FC are a subsidiary company?, the man is a total coward and his son is just a mouthpiece for him.

KSE's priority is clearly the LA Rams project, they are spending $5BN on the development of the 'complex', Arsenal are clearly just being used as a form of collateral against the money they are borrowing for this.

We should be excited?, why?, is daddy selling up already?!.

#KroenkeOUT

I’ve been struggling with sleeping in the recent heat. I’ve just found the perfect solution. Play the video of Josh Kroenke’s PR drivel.

Flannel and hogwash with no actual substance.

Never heard of Queensland but it sounds as though your sportsman are pretty second rate themselves!

Might they just hide behind ‘excitement’ being subjective. Where does Martinelli rank in the excitement stakes? One for the future, I’m only excited by transfers that will address key weaknesses in the first 11 for the here and now, namely 2 new CB, a LB, a RB to challenge Bellerin, a Powerful CM, a creative goalscoring CM and a pacey wife player. Get those 7 in, get rid of the underperforming players (we all know the names) and supplement them with our talented youth. Then we can get excited

I can’t account for the education system in some of the underdeveloped nations. I celebrate the fact you have learnt to read.

I think it is best we talk more about the cricket because there is nothing happening at the club.

I assume in the Corinthians spirit you will be happy to give the WC to New Zealand who actually should have apparently won it.

On which basis? Even if 5 runs had been given and not 6 Stokes would have whacked the last ball for 4 or 6 if he knew we needed 3 runs and not 2. You need to get over it before it eats you up!

Josh does the statements because for all intents and purposes, he's being positioned as 'the man' going forwards. He's been the active part of KSE for their progress in Ice Hockey (where the Avs already have one the best teams, but crucially have a spectacular pipe line of prospects) and Basketball. The only thing Stan has talked about is the Rams, which he is so closely personally identified with that he has no choice. Josh has done the rest for a while now.

Stan may be the owner, but from an Arsenal perspective, what Josh says is far more important. Whether he says anything of value is another point entirely...

Would be better if we had an official option to buy, but it give us a chance to make him love us. We tried to buy him before. Maybe a season long stop gap, but I'd be very happy as there is a clear need for one more body of that type for the season ahead, and if it allows us to spend our bugger all budget on other positions, I'm all for it.

That's the thing though. Mustafi is capable of being an excellent defender for 90 minutes of a game most of the time. The problem is that most matches last 93-97 minutes given injury time in each half, and he is just incapable of concentrating for all 97 minutes on a regular basis. He's in no way crap, but he lacks the mental strength and concentration to succeed at the top level with any regularity. In many ways, Holding is an inferior defender (not as quick or agile, and a less varied skillset), but he is also less prone to spectacular WTF moments that Mustafi specialises in.

Mustafi is 95% an excellent defender, but the other 5% is simply not top flight standard, with perhaps 1% being non-league standard.

A lot easier to be nice about the opposition when you fluke a win, but given the Kiwi's excellence in performance and sportsmanship, isn't about time they got more decent tours? We see them about once every 6 years over here, and its taken them 30+ years to get a boxing day test with their noisy neighbours.

Being that lucky against the black caps makes one feel a modicum of guilt among the pleasure. If it had been against the Aussies, it'd be guilt free for sure. I just hope the NZ lads are able to get over it as quickly as possible and get the welcome back home that they deserve and will probably get. 1 real star batsman. 1 real star bowler. Their most destructive top order player has a stinker of a month and only a diving half-kiwi timing an accidental connection as sweet as nut stopped them winning the whole thing. Certainly makes you realise how good Williamson's captaincy was compared to other countries with greater resources.

The problem for us is that he's either a number 10 or a playmaking wide man who is not proven in a good enough league to be a dead cert. Given that we have our two albatross contracts that no-one will take off us in exactly those two roles, Ziyech simply can't be a priority. Same with Fekir.

At least he wore the red and white.

Oh no ...... what have I done ......?

I was only joking ................... Come back Cobber ...... all is forgiven .

Indeed - 'influencers' they are described as. Personally, while I laud the overall aspiration of trying to put pressure on ownership, I think the inflated sense of importance of those involved and the idiotic timing of it completely undermined the whole thing. Would have been better having a simple message and just the supporters groups. Who the hell gives a rats rectum what a couple of bloggers (at least the club will have heard of Arseblog unlike some of the others) and youtube eejits think?

Also, talking about now as a pivotal moment and demanding change literally a fortnight after the club has hired the final piece of their internal restructuring that has taken 2 years is incredibly stupid and self-defeating. The club have literally just concluded the biggest change since the stadium build and you demand change in woolly non-specific terms. Instant zero credibility. In PR terms that was guaranteed to garner no sympathy from anyone not already onside. It pisses me off because it would be fairly easy for anyone with even a basic understanding about how the big boys minds work to have timed it and written it much more effectively. Hell, I could have done it easily enough (though I'm an absolute nobody and have no traction), because ultimately no matter how much they dress it up about club structures etc, thats got nothing to do with anything.

Ultimately fans want to feel like the owners give a monkeys, preferably with a willingness to spend some of their own dosh. The rest is irrelevant as the owners, like most overseas owners, defer the day to day decisions.

They needed to be explicit in pitching the positive inside the negative. As fans we all want to get behind our club. We want a clear vision of the way forward outlined in clear language. Short of putting hands in pockets, the rest is all guff.

That said, the club ARE restructuring to a modern model. They are clearly pursuing a Dortmund like project youth a la Wenger 2008. What this letter was really about was a complaint that last 5-8 years have been massively mis-managed, and that our rich owners, unlike other rich owners don't put any money in.

Yes its a bit depressing seeing us under-achieve, but its been mostly because people who have now left the club made series of very costly cock-ups. The owners aren't going to put any money in unless their asset starts depreciating.

Ultimately its all about that issue. As fans we see the other teams all getting owner money and shiny things that promise a better future, and we don;t and it feels unfair. And our owners have failed to deliver effective soothing words to show they care.

I would largely agree with you on Mustafi, although I would make the qualification that there are games when he doesn’t make serious errors. Let me clarify that I’ll be perfectly happy if he does leave this summer, although I’ll be even more happy if Koscielny gets his wish and moves on.

Stan is 71 years old. Josh is going to inherit things. He's the one that is going to running Arsenal for decades. The only "bright" spot if one can call it that is he wants to win a bit more than his father.

As far protests, etc, won't do a bit of good. They have learned about the passion of football fans and the waiting list for season tickets tells them any protest is 'just those English fans and their passion for the sport'.

I've been saying the Rams are the priority. And also that there is no financial reason why they should sell. The value of their initial investment has indicated that. Again, its like complaining about the rain pretty much with the Kroenkes. Won't do much good. We are stuck with them.

...and yes, we can thank Dein for inviting his interest in Arsenal and leaving the board with only 2 choices, both of which he orchestrated.

I couldn't care less about the cricket but every now and then I don't mind a bit of fishing. Looks like I have someone on the hook now. Your the one defending the situation.

My interest in cricket is principally test cricket but even that is a bit sad nowadays with players earning spots in the team when they would not even be good enough for Sheffield Shield in the old days. Still I look forward to the ashes but won't be sitting up all night checking the scores. Never been to a one day match in my life but been to a few test matches. And no I don't expect us to win the ashes.

Just watched highlights of the game agsinst Rapids. Must say Olyainka’s goal was brilliant. See from the official site Emery is talking 3-5 captains again. Plus he seems to suggest getting in 3-4 players. Time will tell.

And I suggest we tell Celtic to f..k off in relation to Tierney.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... r-16593918

Lookman from Everton has signed for Leipzig for £22.5m. That now becomes the benchmark for any young English talent going to Germany. Nelson achieved more than lookman and is 2 years younger. I obviously don’t want to sell Nelson but he’s worth at least that now.

Celtic are notes that they sold Van Dijk for £13m and then he was sold for £75m. Same with Dembele, they want to make sure they get a big sum for them. English clubs are taken for a ride when it comes to transfer fees though.
The problem for us is it looks like Tierney is our No.1 target and we have no other options.
We seem to be haggling over £7m add one rather than £7m up front. I don’t like to just roll over to demands but that isn’t that much - especially when you consider we pay Özil £20m a year

Well if it’s true that Celtic are looking for something approaching £50m, then I expect you to get your wish.

Morning Lom,

I've got mixed feelings over the Cabellos deal, if it happens. On the one hand with no option to buy it feels that we are developing someone else's player. On the other hand, if he has a brilliant season and is instrumental in getting us CL football again then I think its a win-win. Of course no option to buy does not definitely mean we can't buy him at the end of the season but the irony is the better the season he has the less likely we are to be able to afford him or even convince Madrid to sell.

Somewhere out there Terry Mancini II is just waiting

They may do but exciting is still a pretty strong emotive word. I wouldn't describe Martinelli as exciting as he is a low cost gamble with similarly low expectations of taking us to the next level. I heard a French journalist making a strong case that signing Saliba would be a very good move because if he continues on his current trajectory he should become an excellent player. However you could argue that if we have to loan him back then its not exciting as we don't get to use him!
As long as they can walk straight into our first 11 and improve us now OR they are outstanding prospects who require a bit more development/guidance then that's fine by me.

However on cabellos if we did have an option to buy at a fixed price then it would be more logical

Especially if we sign this guy,

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football ... a-everton/

It looks like ..


Everton 36 million
Tierney 25
saliba 25 on instalments
Cabelllos loan (10m fee)

So if we can sell Bielek and loan out jenkinson and chambers You may get our net spend down to around 70 but have to put up with our existing centre halves.

Did you say those last seven words with a straight face?

Beggars can’t be choosers

If we had to choose between signing a left back or centre half I’d go with the left back as we have to rectify the imbalanced left hand side of the team.

I suppose if Kos goes that leaves us with Holding, sokratis, Chambers and Mustafi. Not perfect but could get us through a season until saliba arrives.

Chambers in central defence? Jesus wept. Although I’d rather have him than the modern Koscielny.

I don't think there is any way back for Koscielny from his current position. I wonder how many offers have flowed in for him because after his strike we need to get some cash for him. Of course this could be Mustafi's break through season - becoming a crowd favourite and signing an extension to his current contract.

We can’t sell our duff players though. Little Josh Kroenke said in his PR interview yesterday that we are working on things for now and for the future also clearly a reference to saliba

I get that though I’d rather see Chambers, if he is going to stay, as Torreira’s back-up in central midfield than central defence.

I suspect Goonie could be right and in many games we’ll see a back three of Sokratis, Mustafi and Holding.

At the risk of picking at the scab of an old wound. Basically, Man Utd paid 24 million for a title. Fairly cheap I'd say.

https://talksport.com/football/572308/w ... 1563005477

'JUST TOO GOOD TO TURN DOWN' Why Arsenal HAD to sell captain Robin van Persie to rivals Manchester United in 2012

The Netherlands international had finished the previous season as the top scorer in the Premier League and looked like he had finally overcome his injury problems.

At the age of 29, Van Persie then made a stunning move to Old Trafford in a deal worth £24million.

The striker enjoyed a sensational debut campaign with the Red Devils, scoring 26 goals to fire United to a record 20th league title.

“He changed their situation, he was the difference between them and us,” former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said at the end of the season.

After scoring 10 minutes into his first start against Fulham, Van Persie went on a run of scoring a total of 18 goals in his next 22 Premier League games.

This included a hat-trick and a last-minute winner in a 3-2 triumph at Southampton, converting a late penalty to win 2-1 at Liverpool, a winner in an incredible 4-3 victory at Reading and a crucial goal against Chelsea in a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge.

And Arsenal’s former transfer negotiator Dick Law has revealed the offer was just too good for the club to turn down.

“We did everything we could to keep Robin,” said Law told Goal.

“He was 29 when he moved; he had a year left and wanted to do his very best in arguably his next-to-last contact – or even his last contract.

“In every case where we attempted in good faith to negotiate with players, we just couldn’t control all the factors.

“We knew how it looked selling to rivals but getting £24m for a 29-year-old was an important piece of business, it set us both up.

“It let Robin pursue a dream that he wanted and he was right, by going to United he won the title that season – but I think by the end of the next season, Sir Alex had left and that was the end of Robin at United.

“You would have to ask him if his calculation worked out. Financially, it worked out for sure, but he ended up moving to Turkey and then back to Feyenoord.

“If he had stayed at Arsenal I’m reasonably sure he would have gone down in history as one of the greats.”

We're *%^@** then. Mustafi is a dead man walking at Arsenal. His confidence is shot to pieces and the first (inevitable) error he makes he will be destroyed by fans who can't wait to see the back of him.

I'd rather take a massive financial hit than have him in the team.

I just can't see a way out. Mustafi will never get as much money(wages) as he does at the moment. Has a couple of more years on the contract. Just no way he would move. Even if he only plays Europa and the fans are giving him pelters, the pay cheque will keep him and the missus very happy. Would you ask for a move? See out the contract and move on a free.

Blame those that recruited him and offered him such a good package. The club is littered with overpaid underperformers.

This whole scenario across the club has got 3 years written all over it. Of course the problem can be that being money restricted we cannot buy quality players and we end up buying more players who don't measure up and we can't get rid of. If you want some examples look at Everton, who do not pay as much but do you think their fans are happy with Theo or some of the others they have purchased.

We have to be smarter than that but it is not easy. I am hoping that Edu might be able to get us some real gems from Brazil.

On Saliba it’s rumoured the deal is close but a varied price being quoted of between 30 - 40 million euros with potentially a 20% sell on clause.

I know nothing about the player but my goodness that’s huge money for an 18 year old.

Wasn’t he supposed to be joining Tottenham last week?