Arsenal are basically paying 2 million for a footballer to play for another club. It’s pretty amazing.Read this .. amazing the way both clubs are bending over backwards whilst the player obviously refuses to compromise himself. It’s almost more logical to stick him in the reserves and wait for an injury crisis.

Kolasinac’s agent wants Arsenal to pay off the remainder of his Gunners contract so he can join Fenerbahce. The ex-Schalke full-back, who returned to the Veltins-Arena on loan in January, has one year on his €5.5m-a-year (£90k-p/w) deal.

Arsenal are only prepared to pay off €2.5m (£2m) of the amount owed to Kolasinac for next season. However, his agent is pushing for €3.7m (£3m) from the north Londoners, with Fenerbahce covering the €1.8m (£1.5m) difference.

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/08/05/a ... ct-report/

No wonder Arsenal are short of cash. They keeping paying out fortunes for people not to play for them. Nuts.

If I was advising any player on leaving the club, you would be silly not to require a full payout or just sit down and wait. With the pandemic many clubs where you are heading will not be offering big wages, particular if there is no CL money.

We, Arsenal, are caught in the half way area of being trying to get back into the top 4 and being forced to pay silly wages to attract or keep players. In my view we are negotiating from the wrong angle. We should be paying a good wage but topped by bonuses for trophies or top 4 or a lesser sum for Europa.

Mustafi is now a free agent, can’t find a club and been voted “loser of the season”

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/footb ... i-24693341


we were paying him a hundred grand a week. people on the SGF thought he was ace.

Getting paid to leave? Hold on there ltg..lets not be too hasty on this. Just saying...

Performance related pay. Yes please.

Fully agree with what you say from the player/agent perspective. So would I in their position. We just have too many Winston Bogardes.

How much do you want?

I'll chip in with a fiver.

If I could do smilies that would get some.

Just to clarify, do you mean they thought he was ace when we signed him, or later?

Also, does ace mean not thinking he was quite as bad as Top Gun claimed?

I think we're probably all guilty of using hindsight on transfers. I'm sure there have been plenty of transfers that when they happened at the time Arsenal fans either got caught up in the excitement of a new signing, or didn't really have a bad word to say about the signing or perhaps a few grumblings. Possibly because with lots of the players we haven't actually seen them play and we look at the transfer fee rather than the wages.

For example:

Kolasinac was voted Bundesliga best left-back, was physically imposing and had a reputation for flying down the wing and providing lots of assists, and we signed him for free! At the time I don't think there were too many moans. Hindsight shows he wasn't good enough to justify his place in the team or his wages and now we are all grumbling about his signing because we can't shift a player we don't want.

There are probably similar arguments for Mustafi, Xhaka and Willian (although people definitely grumbled about the length of his contract)

There were grumbles when Mustafi joined as his career was pretty unimpressive to be honest but it was Hobson’s choice for us as we were desperate. Willian definitely, Xhaka not. Then later on even after a healthy blooper reel including cup final cock ups people here were still calling mustafi “a bloody good player” so the initial thoughts are pointless anyway .

Very good points. Even if we have paid Kolasinac £3m pa in salary (and who knows the truth of that figure), has it been the worst deal ever made to spend say £12-15m on a squad man who played over a hundred times in four years? In the scheme of things not a big stick to beat the club with.

I'm glad you asked. I have a number in mind, there are several that I seriously think would consider it.

And, for what it's worth, Kolasinac got off to a flyer in his first season. Scoring against Chelsea in the Community Shield, Arsenal Player of the Month in August and October that season. We shouldn't completely rewrite history about what an overpaid hack he is. Plus, you'd want him by your side when under knife attack.

Pep confirms Bernardo Silva wants to leave City. Would you take him?

Out of interest - if we ignore price tags and just focus on the player, who would you rather have if Arsenal could only sign one of Ødegaard, Aouar, Maddison, Silva?

Now if we bring in possible price tags of:
Ødegaard £35m
Aouar £20m
Maddison £60m
Silva £45m
Who would you have?

ps: the price tag for Silva is my stab in the dark, the others are what has been widely reported)

I personally thought Kol was better than people gave him credit for. Tough, uncompromising, put in a decent cross. I don't recall too many over mistakes that cost us. I don't recall many, if any, passes to Tottenham players that led to goals.

Mustafi...really, why drag him in it. It was obviously we were taken and the shock was that he got as many appearances as he did. A halfway decent purple patch for a few months where, it was mre he didn't make glaring mistakes than he played well, doesn't erase his Benny Hillesque compilation of errors.

Apologies to the late great Benny Hill. Greatest British comedian ever.

Afternoon Rich. I once remember you calling Kolasinac the best left back in the Bundesliga. I pointed out at the time, he got into the Bundesliga’s team of the year at the end of one season. That’s like getting into the Premier League’s team of the year. I asked, is that alone enough to define him as the best left back in the Bundesliga because, for me, Alaba was for quite a lengthy period. Kolasinac getting more votes for the Bundesliga’s team of the year one summer doesn’t, or didn’t, change that.

But like OMOH, I do agree with your basic argument in that post, including what you say about Mustafi, Xhaka and Willian as well as Kolasinac. I see part of the trouble as some posters frequently using language that is too extreme when putting over their views on players. It goes both ways with decent players being defined by words more extreme than good, and disappointing players being described with words much worse than bad. The fact that players not only become professional footballers but in Arsenal’s case play in the Premier League, means there is something positive about them that makes descriptions like rubbish or useless not only unfair, but possibly ridiculous.

All of Kolasinac, Mustafi, Xhaka and Willian are or were Premier League players for a club of Arsenal’s standing. But also, they are full internationals and in the cases of Willian and Mustafi, for two of the world’s most outstanding national teams in the modern era, if not any era. They are NOT rubbish or useless, and it’s silly to use such words to describe them. It is probably legitimate to have expected them to be better than they were at Arsenal, and from that as disappointing signings. But to use words like rubbish, useless, and more vulgar criticisms than that, in my view reflects most badly on those calling them that.

I've mentioned it before, but the veeeeeery slight disconnect between AG's many, many, many posts ridiculing Mustafi, and his many, many, many posts complaining about being trolled by members of the SG forum is worth bringing up every now and again.

Hi Bernard, I think if I ever said Kolasinac was the best left back in the Bundesliga it would have been based on him being voted in the team of the year rather than my personal opinion because I don't watch anywhere near enough German football to have a view on it that I would stand by. And yes, anyone who has seen Alaba play for Bayern (only in the Champions League for me) can see he would have almost certainly been the best left back in the league generally.

No it wasn't.

Visions of sugarplums. If rumours are to be believed, PSG/Poch has already contacted Messi's reps.

Another one added to all the so-called possibilities being targeted. Still plenty of time in this Russian roulette of a transfer window.

Bernardo Silva - Current Market Value : €70.00m

*According to : https://www.transfermarkt.com/bernardo- ... ler/241641

Billy Connolly, Stewart Lee and Ricky Gervais say hello

I would like to point out that Mustafi was useless. Any fan who has paid a fortune to attend a cup final where mustafi let’s the ball bounce over his head for a goal because he wasn’t goalside a footballing fundamental has the divine right to call him that. Mustafi has the right to make his 100 grand that week regardless however I do have that pleasure,

In fact if Shkodran was here today Id tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shite he is! Hallelujah!

Yep and the thing that is really sad is that Covid has made this even worse, clubs that were run as a 'business' such as Arsenal and many others have taken a huge financial hit, these clubs were already at a massive disadvantage to the likes of Man City, P$G and Chav$ki, that gap is now wider thanks to the pandemic, only United can hold on to their shirt tales now, I predict we'll have a 'triopoly' of dominance in the PL from City, Chavs and Utd, I'm not sure Liverpool can stay the course but might be the distant 4th place club that we used to be!.

Remember City, Chavs and P$G were 3 of the 4 CL semi finalists last season.

Actually not much of a change really just they will likely pull away (even more!) from clubs like us, spudz and Leicester, be excited says Josh, lol!, couldn't be less excited about football these days.

Not even really glad about the demise of RM and Barca, all it means is more likely City, Chavs or Utd win the big jug.

All a load of bollocks.

#KroenkeOUT

It's akin to calling Cliff Richard Britain's greatest musical artist.

Perfect analogy.

Danny Dyer Britain’s greatest actor.

Get a life.

Perhaps, but it could also be a complete circus. Do we need the drama, or should be building steadily?

Go back to your quest to stop all equal rights campaigning than commenting on my posts.

I paid whatever I paid to watch the Manchester City League Cup final. We lost 0-3, and the defeat didn’t happen because Mustafi made an error on Aguero’s goal. We lost because we were hopelessly outplayed by a better team on the day. Just as Mustafi has the right to be paid a £100 grand a week, you of course have the right to come across a bitter person driven by personal dislikes.

And you come across as driven to double down on any previous comment you’ve made no matter how outright ludicrous.

Of course mustafi was a major contributor in that defeat.

Some people does need big sticks. Little sticks, twisted sticks, stones, hot air, the kitchen sink ... all are suitable ammo as far as Mr 20/20 hindsight is concerned.

Couldn't agree more. What a load of utterly disrespectful, over the top, drivel from Top Gun.

But what about the downside?

Well done, Mr 'whatever he's got, I'm going all in on my pair of twos'. That has to take the cake as the least self-aware post in the history of the forum! Even Chocolate Gooner was Zen-like in comparison.