Ivan Gazidis has assembled a great new management team at Arsenal and has brought in Unai Emery as the new Messiah to lead us back to the promised land of the Top Four, but is the arrival of a promising young defensive midfielder and a couple of veteran defenders going to be enough to challenge the Big Guns this coming season?
According to the former Arsenal striker John Hartson thinks that unless we actually try to bring in proven stars the Gunners are still going to found wanting. Hartson said: “Arsenal fans are going to have to be patient for a couple of seasons, not demanding such success because I believe they’re still way behind in the market for the best players in the world, I really do.
“I think I share a lot of opinions even with their own fans.
“But they’ve appointed Emery, he’s got a very impressive CV behind him in terms of the Europa League.
“I think they need to be a bit patient with him and I believe in time he’s got the capabilities if he’s given the funds to add to the group they’ve got.
“But they’re still a long way from signing the best players in the world, as when they come up, when the best players in the world become available, they’re never in for them. They’re never in for them.
“Why aren’t they in for Hazard? Why aren’t they in for Willian? Why aren’t they in for these big players that would probably cost £80m? I don’t think they’re prepared to go there.”
“I still think they need to spend. I don’t think they’re anywhere near the quality of a Liverpool or a Man City.
“What are Arsenal playing for, are they playing for a top-four place and a cup run? They can’t win the league with this team.
“I just think you look at Chelsea who have got a few issues, you look at their top three players – are they going to be at the club?
“[Thibaut] Courtois, Hazard and Willian – all linked with big moves away. It’s huge for the new Chelsea manager to deal with before his team even kick a ball.
“You’ve got Liverpool, look how strong they are with their front three.
“For me, Liverpool and Man City, Man Utd, they’re not going to be happy with finishing second, [Jose] Mourinho’s going to go again.
“So, I still think Arsenal are in a bit of a transition. I think it’s going to take a bit of time for Emery to put his stamp on the club.”
There is a great feeling of optimism amongst Gooners in the hope that Emery can at least get our team fighting for every point, but can we really challenge for the Top Four if our rivals are buying all the proven top quality players that become available?
Darren N
Typical Hartson rabbiting what we all know. Just another highly paid chewing gum punter. Like chewing gum constantly chewing the same points be they fact or rumor or fantasy. Then like chewing gum spitting the subject out and chewing and chewing something else.
Rubbish talk, not a single fan is expecting Emery to give us the league now because we all know we can’t win it with now. We all know that truth, the team is a mess, the last regime left a mess so big that it’s gonna take more than a season to put back in place. For now we as the fans just want good football, See the team’s hunger and passion even if they won’t win the league, Win the Europa league, win one of F.A cup of Carabao, And finish Top 4. If Emery does that, then his first season is a success. That’s all we want from now, then we can start building for the league, Klopp didn’t deceive himself and the fans that they were gonna win the league, they gave him time now look at the team he’s built. A lot of people who call themselves Arsenal supporters are just dìck riders.. We the fans all know the situation at the club already, so some still choose to come out and start talking about it seeking attention and exposure.
Common sense ain’t a common thing to have for some people.
Arsenal’s fans don’t expect anything anymore as they have blindly accepted Kroenke’s system of where a billionaire doesn’t pay for anything.
Sir Alex retired from MU…. and one or two years later he was called back !!! Yes, I’m a fan of Arsene who is a neighbour in Alsace. In his first ten years, he was able to get the best french players : his and their input changed the premier ligue. Afterwards Sven Mislintat got the best french to Dortmund. Now SM works here and a new area is starting. But don’t forget what AW did for the club, never, he also deserves a statue like TH.
Some well made comments and I concur. But Liverpools owners have spent REAL MONEY to back Klopp and had the great sense and ambition to appoint that great manager in the first place. Our owner and board stuck with WENGER, TIL WE FANS FORCED THEM TO ACT and though I appaud their , far too late , appointment of a proper manager and a fresh football people regime( Sven, Raul etc) behind him, the fact remains that under Kroenkes ownership even Emery will be hamstrung in the market. This is always a massive handicap to us, compared to our main rivals who do spend big. Despite this I firmly believe he will make a huge improvement on Wengers team. However, Ford Granada engines, with inferior power, do not compete in Formula ONE GRAND PRIX,as all realists know full well.
Darren,
Why is “JustArsenal.com” giving you space to write so much Rubbish!
First, “Hazard” of Chelsea will Never sign for Arsenal or any other Club in EPL. As he has stated on numerous occasions “I want to go to Ral Madrid with or without Zidane as Coach/Manager”
Second, Stan Kroenke has left all budgetary, transfer and day to day running care and control in the hands of “Ivan Gazidis & the Board” where Gazidis has a chair.
“Gazidis as CEO of AFC has a great deal to say when it comes to the “Budget” in-house accounts manipulations are normal in every business. The initial “Transfer budget” of £50m was extended to £70m and it was said “Kroenke” has decided to extend £20 towards the original budget! Why? Because “Kroenke” has the ear to Gazidis !
Thus it is “Gazidis” who having taken “9 years” of gruelling meticulous engineering to kick out “Wenger” and taken full control of his “Portfolio as CEO” & set up “The Brain Trust”, with Gazidis at it’s Head, is fully in control of All Transfers & Budgets at AFC and “Kroenke” merely “rubber stamps”
Omar. K.
At least he’s writing an article we can have a discussion about ,maybe you could send in one of your own if you think his isn’t credible enough for you ,or maybe your just one of these fans that seem to be springing up on here with there self styled opinions where others in their mind don’t have a say about how our club are being run .
Well said! I deride people who never utter their own thoughts , in well set out detail. Many of these type are not able to clearly write and explain their OWN thoughts. This is why I think we are much better of now that the ” thumbs” have gone. So many of those were sheer cowards, keen to criticise but terrified to state their own thoughts, in case of criticism. It needs balls to say what you think and stand to be shot down. And then to keep writing articles , as Darren has done. And others too. I say this , quite irrespective of whether or not I agree with them. That is a different and minor matter, by comparison.
@Omar k. Why shouldn’t Darren be allowed to write an opinion article to be posted on “Justarsenal.com”?… So justarsenal should first ask for your opinion on every article before it’s published on their website?.. They should only post articles that you agree with? Smh
Ever heard the expression “freedom of speech”? I have no idea what your country of origin is but in BRITAIN WHERE THIS SITE IS BASED, WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED FREEDOM OF OPINION AND ARE ALL THE BETTER FOR IT! IF YOU DISAGEE WITH HIS COMMENTS , THEN CHALLENGE HIM . IN WORDS OF YOUR OWN. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL DARREN – OR ANYONE ELSE WHAT HE/ SHE CANNOT WRITE. GETTIT FELLA?
Yes, we need to be patient
If Emery is a great manager, he will bring major trophies without more top players
And Arsenal already have many top players, they are not the poor Leicester City
Rubbish – these day most great managers only win trophies by signing top players or having a sugar daddy as the owner
Leceister – one off so don’t need use that as an example
Leicester City was not a one-off
Arsenal almost got the title but finished behind Leicester and Arsenal did not have too many top players at that time
when teams come to arsenal emirates the know the likely to come away with nothing points-wise. Its when we visit other grounds that we need to maintain our focus and our fighing spirit. Unai has assured us the desire to fight is something that’s being instilled in new resurgent arsenal.
I see its clear as daylight this asenal is currently on a path to a sustained run in all cup competitions and to succed in securing epl 4th spot which will indicate only the start of our return to footballing hourrs and greater success.
…footballing honours ….
?
We all want emery to.install what we haven’t had for years organisation discipline work rate and leadership then we take it from there
Agree-we came sixth last year with our terrible away form.Get that sorted and we will easily make Top 4.Lets not forget we do have a lot of quality players at our Club.And at Long last a DFM That will make a huge difference
??What we need to see – pride in and comitment to the badge to make the Arsenal greater than the sum of its parts; a champion team, not necessarily a team of champions.
We have a budget of £50-70 mil plus sales of our mediocre players.Our main rivals are spending that on a player.Recent football club valuations in europe place the Arsenal 5th.Where’s the ••••••• money.I visual more empty seats come the new year.A new manager is a start but a new owner and board shakeup is needed before we can return to our rightful position
So we begin selling excess players that won’t be registered in our 25 man squad:
Akpom to truiden pretty much done. strong interest from chelsea and everton to cech and welbeck. We have 29 players over 21, have to trim that down.
By top players, he means the most expensive ones. But Arsene Wenger didn’t buy the most expensive players when he first came to Arsenal.
Nickolas Anelka and Patrick Viera to name a few. Look how well they turned out.
?
Some fans are saying we should keep Iwobi & sell Welbeck instead.
Do they know we are being linked with Kingsley Coman & Ousmani Dembele as their replacements?
I hope the Coman rumour is true. He is a good winger and only 22. That should complete our attack with Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang/Lacazette. Max Meyer on free transfer (no transfer fee) would be nice too but his wage demands are too high..
I hope the Andre Gomes rumour is not true. He is not an upgrade to Ramsey or Xhaka.
Im a bit concerned about CB situation . We have plenty of CB but quality wise dunno.
I have no idea about Leno, Guendozi, Sokratis, Lichtersteiner. We will see how they do.
So far Torreira is the big signing of the summer, actually could be the signing of the DECADE. This one signing should be a big improvement
agree almost completely … gomes is the one mystery to me .. he looked like a rising star at benfica and valencia and then petered out at barca … not sure what happened as he seems to have the right qualities to make it … but we sure need an upgrade on ramsey and xhaka if we are to contend
It’s alright for Hartson to preach that we FANS – and he is NOT a fan of ours – should be patient. But until Kroenke dies or sells the club we are stuck with him, barring all out war which WOULD force him to sell but which our ENTIRE FANBASE would never carry out. It would need our entire home and away games empty of all our fans for as long as it takes and that will not happen. I wish it would but I am a realist. People talk of Usmanov stepping in but put yourself in his shoes. He is reportedly worth around 18 billion and could, if he chose , easily offer say 10 BILLION to buy Arenal . But he chooses not to do so. I would in his POSITION and I warrant so would almost all Gooners. But billionaires are different and inferior human beings to us ordinary folk. Richer, cleverer, BUT INFERIOR IN ALL THE VITAL ASPECTS OF HUMANITY.
Further to the above, I do not disagree with what Hartson says about needing to spend big money to really compete with our rivals but that is NOT going to happen under Kroenke as all realists know. There are, however, some on this site who don’t even know the meaning of the word realism , sadly.
” our entire home and away games empty of all our fans for as long as it takes and that will not happen. I wish it would” So you, as a supposed Arsenal fan, wish that our players did not have a single person in the stands cheering them on, for both home and away matches? Wow. That really says it all people. This is the kind of “support” that you lot give our team. Absolutely disgraceful.
Can you even imagine a supporter of another team saying that they wished their players would play in a half empty ground full of only opposing fans? Some of the comments you guys make really are beggars belief. It genuinely makes me question whether you are Spurs fans trying to make Arsenal fans look bad, because as well know, it is people like you that make our fanbase an absolute laughing stock, and that’s the honest truth.
If you had properly read my post, you would have seen that I want an empty ground specifically to force Kroenke to sell and thus let Arsenal truly compete with our main rivals financially. No other reason. I also said this will not happen. If you could guarantee Kroenke was forced out if we had an empty ground for two full seasons and then a true fan with money, who would really spend it took over ownership, you would be daft to turn that, admittedly hypothetical, event down. Under Kroenke we are doomed always to have a huge handicap financially against our rivals. Yet you actually want that and then say I, who wants an equal playing field with our rivals, am “digraceful” . It is you who are disgraceful for being content to continue with our KROENKE HANDICAP. You will not know but I have been attending for 60 years, so I have no need to prove my staunch fanhood to such as you.
Well said 45 years Gooner. Kronke is a drain on the club a parasite.
Agreed. Now Kroenke lost his possible scape goat in AW. We shall find out soon who is holding the team back.
Surely walking out is an options. Kroenke needs to find out there is no free meal in Arsenal FC.
I welcomed the new manager and looking forward to the new season. But my eyes are wide open and looking Kroenke’s running of the club. 20 years of degeneration, surely someone needs to be accountable for it.
?Arsene Wenger was the good corporate man, who ran interference for Kroenke and the board. Now he’s gone, the truth will out.
Unai Emery did not come to the Arsenal to fail; if not supported by Gazidis and Kroenke he will move on.
“lead us back to the promised land of the Top Four” Funny how you lot would constantly attack Wenger for getting us into the top 4 for 20 consecutive seasons (with a negative net-spend for the vast majority of those, no less), yet now that he has left apparently finishing in the top 4 would be a great achievement.
D, you miss the point; Arsenal missed out on Champions League income for 2 seasons (~£100 million). Not only lost income, but the allure to players to come to a Champions League club. If Unai Emery can lead the Arsenal back into the Champions League places, it will a major achievement given the comparative wealth of many competing clubs in the EPL and the mess left behind with run down contracts etc.
Arsenal (while owned by Silent Stand) has invested in top players, we have got a few top players in our team and they was all signings.
Ozil, Laca and Auba to mention just 3.
Silent Stan isn’t paying for AFC like Man UTD was bought… So why can we not grow like UTD did to afford the big signings?
Of course we could be blessed with a passionate owner who is also an Arsenal supporter but things can always be better, grass is always greener on the other side kind of thing.
The real issue with Arsenal has been Gazidis. Keeping my fingers crossed that Raul and Sven can advise Gazidis well enough to invest if we want to grow and not just invest in panic buys but real targets.
” So why can we not grow like UTD did to afford the big signings?” Because Man United implemented their global marketing back in the 70’s, making them the most well known club in England and attracting fans from all across the globe. Arsenal have also done this, but not until much later. That’s how Man United are able to spend such gross amounts of money, not because they have a owner that pays out of his own pocket for their signings.
It was the Munich crash in 1958 that gained United worldwide sympathy and huge world support. Way before the seventies. I was around back in 1958 and know. I doubt you were and clearly you have not bothered educating yourself as to when their support became worldwide. Even before the crash, their home support was the biggest in DIVISION ONE, and much more than ours.