Arsenal’s transfer dealings are getting embarrassing now

Arsenal look to have missed out on signing Riyad Mahrez, and are now allowing themselves to fall way behind their rivals ahead of a tough campaign.

The Algerian forward was at Chelsea Harbour Hotel yesterday to meet Antonio Conte, and now appears likely to complete a deal to leave Premier League champions Leicester City to join the Blues.

Mahrez was snapped and posted on Twitter in the hotel, while Conte was snapped sitting waiting for the PL champion to sit down.

The meeting was kept hush hush from the newspapers and Sky Sports alike, but in the day of social media, secrets do not stay as such for long.

This meeting can not be considered a coincidence in my eyes, and his manager Claudio Ranieri had already confirmed their star winger was distracted by the interest in his signature.

Arsenal were supposed to be the interested party who were getting his attention, but once again, we are not the ones strengthening our starting line-up.

Tottenham signing Vincent Jansson was on our radar, but has already joined Tottenham now, Jamie Vardy publicly snubbed out advances, despite us triggering his release clause, and Michy Batshuayi was being watched regularly last term, but has also joined the Blues.

Arsenal are the ones with Champions League football however, not Chelsea. We finished second in the league, while they were a shockingly disappointing 10th place last term. We should be the team attracting the top talents, and not sitting back refusing to spend money.

Mahrez was the best player in the English leagues last year, and we should have made him a priority, but our club just wont fight for a player’s signature. Mahrez, Ozil and Sanchez would have been unstoppable.

Am I wrong to be so fired up about our disappointing transfer dealings? How big of an effect would Mahrez have had alongside Ozil and Sanchez.

Gooner P

Tags angry Arsenal Chelsea mahrez

41 Comments

    1. at least he knows how to pin defenders unlike most of our so called wingers cum strikers/midfielders. 🙁

  1. I believe che need Mahrez more than we do, we could still use a winger though. I’m not sure about Mahrez and Ozil in the same line-up, then imagine adding Walcott to that if Alexis was out. I reckon Moaninho would love to face that midfield. But if you have the right players behind Mahrez, he is a special player. I was glad hearing Wenger describe Theo as a bad defender, I seen some strides being made in our defensive play from three years back, and this confirmed it for me. Some of us believe our biggest weakness is our widemen not pitching in properly, or being bad at it when they do. Our shape is getting a little better these days, but there are still times when our players are all dragged all over the place, high attack high defense, then all of a sudden three men back everyone else forward. Still work to be done, but I like our choices in the centre midfield now, these wont be out of position all that often, except maybe Ramsey and Jack.

  2. I think I’m gonna sleep for years, wake me up when this stubborn grandpa out of our beloving club mate..

  3. Admin
    Instead of having illusion about Mahrez, Ozil, and Sanchez playing together, we better imagine about real collaboration between Mahrez, Hazard, and (tug boy smug face) Costa.
    Anyway, Conte will need more time to gel his 3-5-2 formation at Chelsea.

  4. Winger is way down the list of priorities now. Akpom’s goals and Holding’s performances will also have distracted wenger from his two main priorities

    I just hope the distraction doesn’t cloud his judgement? I can see him waiting now until deadline week, to see how the team performs after a pretty good pre season.

  5. I wanted Mkitharyan earlier in the summer but he went to United for £26 mil
    And now Chelsea will get Mahrez who i wanted too
    I would have been satisfied with Janssen but Spurs got him
    Spurs will be stronger with Janssen and Wanyama
    Xhaka is very good but not a position we needed to strengthen

    Unless Wenger gets miracle signings in both attack and defense we will struggle to finish Top 4. I also think Spurs will finish ahead of us

    1. Even at our worst with Spurs at their best we still finished ahead of them last season,so to all gooners we should pray that Spurs finish 2nd because then we would be champions

  6. Here we go again…..

    The news about Mahrez and Chelsea appear to be on twitter. Oh well, I will believe it once it’s on reliable source like sports and the likes.. .

    Having said that, I don’t think we will get Mahrez…

    I don’t even think we will sign any other player.. .

    Will Wenger prove us wrong? I don’t know..

    I don’t even know the players in Wengers mind..

    1. Looks like AW will trust the kids (Chambers, Holding, Bielik, Iwobi and Akpom) to fix our problem from back to front and win the title in Leicester way. Oooh to be Gooner…

  7. I never cared for Mahrez, sure was an extra attacking option but creating chances was never our issue. Added to that that Mahrez defensive work is totally inexistent imagine how safe would we be on the wings. That’s why Maureen would never buy this guy. And I believe Wenger is the same. Told you earlier not to put any hopes in Mahrez, we were never in for him. What I like though if he is going to Chelsea is Vardy’s face now that both Kante and Mahrez are gone. Add to that the fact that as champions no one will take them for granted anymore and the counter game will not work anymore with bottom half teams. It will be the other way around. Anyway, where the fsck are our CBs? I am screaming for three years now for CBs better than Mertesacker and Koscielny, everyone thought a striker is the solution. It is not! Want to be consistent? Then when you have a bad game at least you don’t concede, just like we did at Sunderland and Stoke. The opposite was Swansea, Palace, Liverpool, United and so on. Not to mention we scored in these games. Yes, transfer policy at the club becomes a joke day by day. If Liverpool goes ahead on Sunday then it won’t be pretty. Mark my words.

  8. Maybe it is about time we finish outside the top4. Then again, how many times have pundits predicted us finishing outside the top4. Wenger have a way of staying in the top4 simply because that’s his target.. .(from his mind and actions at least)

    Fans want to win the league. We don’t want top4. That’s not a trophy.. .

    1. it’s better to finish outside top 4 this time than finish top 4 and watch the same mistakes happen all over,

  9. By now we should all be used to missing out on targets, because the same way Wenger has missed out on titles for the last many years, it’s the same way he bottles transfers. If he was serious about getting these players, he would have signed them already, because he always gets the players he wants. I pray we are the secret club that bid for James Rodriguez. I pray

  10. Mahrez is a superb player and would be a good addition for any team. But I am not sure what impact he would bring at arsenal considering that he is a sanchez esque winger who prefers to cut inside and shoot – As much as it sounds interesting to have both Sanchez and Mahrez cutting inside from their respective flanks, the center forwards on the other hand would definately get starved of those whipped crosses from the wings (the kind similar to the one Sterling sent to Aguero for that City opening goal). This would impact giroud’s game in particular as we know that he thrives very well from such crosses…any CF would want regular supply of crosses.

    I would rather have a skillful pacey right-footed winger playing on the right, with Sanchez on the left….someone that can beat a fullback and whip in a cross. I would prefer someone with the skill set similar to that of Douglas Costa than Mahrez. Somehow I thought Ox would step up and be our guy, but it doesn’t look like it.

    1. I have to say that I agree with Wenger that Sanchez is too predictable on the left wing. All the PL defenders have figured him out in the position. He always cuts back to his right foot in the position. When Wenger moved him to the right wing, where he played for Barca as well, he became more dangerous again and less predictable. I think we should give Sanchez a free role where he can roam between central striker and right wing. That might suit Walcott to and Ozil will be able to manage those guys and their speed.

  11. For me the most embarrassing thing is club’s PR efforts.

    We are looking to strengthen the squad
    We need more goals and will look to bring in a striker
    We bottom fished again on offering a buy out clause 20 for Vardy
    We don’t have the money to compete in the transfer market, fans should be realistic
    Money is no object when it comes to buying a player
    We are waiting for an opportunity to present itself, it’s not like going to the supermarket
    We are active everyday (picking our noses)

    It’s just embarrassing.

    How can you expect to buy your top striker target (if you have one) in the last week when there is little time for the seller to reinvest the 30-50 you will likely have to fork over for a quality striker in these markets.

    I wish we had come out right after singing Xhaka and said: “we have done our business for this summer, we are happy with the squad we have. We might buy one or two players to develop for the future. But don’t expect any big money deals for big name players like have done in previous years with Ozil, Sanchez and Cech. We believe in our young players and are looking to promote from within to fill our first team needs.”

  12. If Mahrez is going to Chelsea,then I say good luck to them,the positions we actually desperately need players are being neglected and y’all are moaning about Mahrez. I wanted Mahrez but with the situation at Arsenal right now I would rather focus on need than want, Mahrez is not needed but a striker definitely is. Our utmost need is a striker and a defender so I can’t be distracted by this news since it doesn’t fall into any of the above categories.

  13. Bold and Wenger are in his office

    Wenger: So basically I think we can win the league this year

    Bould: *spits out his coffee*

    Wenger: What?

    Bould: Bruv, try spending some money!

    Wenger: Look, yes others have spent more but have they really addressed their key weaknesses? City are still no further from being a disaster if Kompany is injured, Utd have Ibra which is fair enough but they are still a squad that needs some key positions looked at and Chelsea still do not really have cover for their injury prone striker

    Bould: That’s all well and good but we have weaknesses too

    Wenger: But we also have a settled squad that can improve

    Bould: Improve, yes. But the key weaknesses are still there. Kos is the only good defender and Giroud is not good enough plus there is no cover

    Wenger: Look I’m not signing anyone so I don’t care

    Bould: You know I’m right

    Wenger: Bruv, have you seen the amount of paperwork needed to sign a player? **** is ridiculous!!!!!

    Bould: *shakes head*

    Wenger: That’s why I only sign young players. Then the youth coach has to do all the paperwork

    Bould: And how is that working out?

    Wenger: We are getting there

    Bould: It’s been over a decade!!!!

    Wenger: How many times? I have excuses up until 3 seasons ago!

    Bould: Yo, that’s Gazidis coming down the hall

    Gazidis enters the room. Wenger quickly picks up his phone and starts talking

    Arsene: Yeah at whatever price. Lets make this happen. The club needs a new striker and money isn’t an issue. *pause* OK *pause* sure as soon as they come back let me know and we can make this happen *puts the phone down

    Gazidis: This is Gavin, he just joined IT

    Gavin: Honor to meet you Arsene, I’m a huge fan but why don’t you sign a striker?

    Arsene: Bruv, you just heard me on the phone

    Gavin: Actually that is why I’m here. The system is showing your phone as down since last night

    Arsene: *gulp* that is ********* fam. I was on it just now.

    Gavin: *looks at the phone* couldn’t possibly have been. Look your ethernet cable is disconnected

    Arsene: Why would my phone need an ethernet cable?

    Gavin: The calls are made using the internet

    Arsene: Why?

    Gavin: It gives us a more integrated system

    Arsene: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

    Gazidis: Anyway Arsene lets leave Gavin to it and go to the weekly senior team meeting

    Arsene: But I’m busy trying to sign a striker

    Gazidis: No your not

    1. So now we know why wenger does not sign many senior players, its because he does not like doing the paperwork. That is a better explaination than some I have heard.

    2. Anytime I read this stuff, there is a way I picture it in my head.. damn hilarious!!! LOL?

      How do you get ur insider scoops @RVP?

  14. I am done with transfer window already, if he like let him play himself as a striker and bold as a defender, looking forward to next after wenger retires. #Goodluck for this season.
    I normally start season with confidence no matter how the window has been, but not this season.

    1. Same here.

      Last summer transfer window was the critical one. Ozil and sanchez with three years on their contracts. We should have used some of our cash reserves to buy xhaka (or similar player) plus striker (welbeck was injured then). It would have shown ambition to ozil and sanchez plus everyone else including us fans. As things turned out we probably would have won the PL and have new contracts with ozil and sanchez in the bag.

      As it now stands i cannot see ozil snd sanchez signing new contracts, unless we hve an exceptional year, they will have to be sold next summer.

      I think Kroenke is behind this. Stadium debt is now manageable and the increased funds were meant to improve the team. Seems to me that money is going in to cash reserves for a rainy day and top four is the aim of the club.

      1. I think if we had fallen out of the top 4 a few years ago we could have kidded ourselves into thinking that we could make it back immediately. With the way things are going at the moment this seems more and more unlikely.

        A more likely scenario now is that we might very well as soon as this year fall out of the top 4, lose key players like Sanchez and Ozil and probably Bellerin and other special players, see Wenger quit in a huff, replace him with an inexperienced manager and spend years and years dreaming about getting back to a top 4 spot. In that scenario only Usmanov buying out Kroenke could unlock things.

        This is such a dangerous time to gamble with our squad. If (and this is by no means certain) Conte and Pep understand the PL quickly, if Mourinho can get back on track, if Spurs continue their upward progress and if Klopp inspires Liverpool, this might be the most difficult year in recent history to make the top 4. Not a year to gamble on your starting 11 or your squad for that manner. I don’t like Giroud, but even if you think he is top quality, is he worth gambling on for all 3 competitions? If Wenger sees Theo as his backup, doesn’t Theo get injured often? Will neither Theo nor Giroud get injured? Same for our central defenders, Kos started last season to pick up more and more little injuries, Mert started to slow down (if that was even possible) yet we didn’t act. Mert gets injured and we still didn’t act.

        This is simply not the year IMO to gamble on unproven players and be inactive at this late stage of the window. Wenger likes buying in the last hours of the window but how many top players get slod the last hours? More often than not top players are owned by clubs who need to replace them and that takes time.

  15. Two photographs, one showing conte, one showing mahrez. Both supposedly taken at the same hotel, but what was the date and time of the photos? Probably a fabricated story.

    Remember a few years ago, the photo of Gazidis and wenger at a stadium in spain supposedly looking at a player. Not sure what the canon logo on the wall in the background was doing on a stadium in spain.

    1. @jonm.
      I like the way you provide insights with your comments. Also the financial perspective you bring into discussions on here at JA is refreshing and anytime I read them I feel like I’ve been educated. There are many insightful contributors here on JA, but it is the very little amount of arrogance/rudeness (if any at all) in yours that does it for me.

      Keep it up man.

  16. All of these same stories every summer will hopefully end after this next seasson as Wenger will retire (hopefully). He truly loves the club and does what he really thinks is best, but it hasn’t been enough for the past +10 years to win the league again. New blood is needed and somebody that really goes out there and get the players we need, like Conte is doing for Chelsea now as the article says.

  17. btw – I am one of those who never got excited about Mahrez. Probably a great player but doesn’t fill one of our greatest needs, striker or CD. (neither did Xhaka, in all fairness).

  18. I agree, the “deluded one” will take confidence in Akpom and Holding performances and might even conclude that Akpom could be the solution, forgetting that the boy scored 3 goals in 35 appearances for Hull (which is ridiculously poor even at 20yo, but you never know).

    Wenger is a “bricoleur” and will continue to do so and do what he wants because he just can. He is in charge and answer to nobody (the fans are meaningless and powerless at Arsenal… first time I have seem that in football and it is regrettable because they deserve way better and much better), like I said before “Arsene football club,” no doubt…

    What I don’t understand are the statements coming from our camp… First we have money and Wenger can spend what he wants, then we don’t have enough money and we cannot compete with the other clubs (oui, because we are a “small” club at the end and Wenger really makes us feel like a small club).

    His wages are not small, and his hypocrisy and arrogance has cost us the league last season and embarrass us each Champions league season. As a matter of fact, we are a disgrace when it comes to the CL… 🙁

  19. At the end, in my opinion, the all thing comes to the “control” Kroenke has over Arsenal (him being the major shareholder), I truly believe “a european” would have put more energy and money in making us more competitive, especially on the European stage (where we are a total liability and inexistent).

    I don’t think Usmanov will ever take over at Arsenal unless he gets a share cut price, so we are stuck with this guy (which all sports franchises are just not winning anything). He has been described as one of the most unambitious and “boring” billionaire in the world (quoting from the New York Times) even though he owns major sports franchises in the US.

  20. Man City just signed Stones for 47.3m pounds. Man United got Pogba for 92m pounds.

    Wenger please, this is 2016, just go and get both Chicharito (30m pounds) and Mustafi(25m pounds) and we are good to go.
    Please, Sell Sanogo.

  21. As an Arsenal fan, I will not be satisfied with the transfer activity of the club as far as “Arsene Wenger” is there or unless his stubborn philosophy is changed. With the help of god, we may get one CB and one CF in this transfer window. Otherwise, fourth spot is goodbye leave alone title win.

  22. Pogba crazy money to Manchester United yesterday, Chelsea to buy Mahrez, Manchester City just spent over 47 Million to make John Stones their 8th signing this season, while our darling club is waiting for the cheapest player available on deadline day.

    Despite my never-ending love for Arsenal, sometimes i’m ashamed to be supporting this club.

  23. @matt72 – Don’t get your hopes up. Wenger is not retiring after this season. He is going nowhere. He will sign a new contract. The club will never let him go even if we do a Chelsea and finish 10th. It is Wenger who decides when he will be done with the club, not the other way around.

    He will only walk when he feels too much criticised.

  24. Whoa I can’t help laughing @ some Co-fans you seize not to amuse me even @ Arsenal’s worst they came on top of Spurs. Is Spurs Arsenal’s standard I want to know cause I don’t know the comparison. If not why not with Real Madrid, Barcelona, and a number of other clubs who have won Champions League severally that we have lost count or is it winning severally in their various league. When other clubs fans are talking, Arsenal fans should be seen and not be heard they should hide their faces in shame. Clubs that are joining from championship are even fortifying themselves we have a coach who is senile and lives in the stone age running the club with the support of the board of directors like their own personal business.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors