Arsenal fans were already well aware that the board of Manchester United would be handing their manager Louis van Gaal a massive transfer war chest to throw at their problems this summer. But from looking at how much the £150 million or so that the Dutchman spent last summer helped them, we were not exactly running around in panic.
But you can bet that United will not be struggling for too long as they continue to spend big, so that increases the need for Arsenal to get our hands on the Premier League trophy as soon as possible. That need has just been given another major prod.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the chairman of another of our big rivals in the BPL, Man City, has vowed to significantly strengthen the playing squad in order to give Manuel Pellegrini the tools to succeed, and that means big money in the transfer market.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak also revealed that quite a few of the current Man City squad will be moving on, so we can reasonably expect it to take a little time for Pellegrini to get them really firing again. But it will happen and so if the Gunners do not take our chances in the season to come, we could find ourselves looking at a wasted chance with regret.
Is it now or never for Arsenal?
Yes.
Said a few times today here haha
Momentum is now.
If we don’t win the EPL this year we risk losing some of our big names, we better get the 3 players we badly need and win the bpl just like how Chelsea did it last year, the signed luiz,fabregas,Costa,matic and Remy and won the league. We need to upgrade 3 major areas in our team.
Simple fact of the matter is we need to strengthen irrespective of what our rivals do. A GK a ST and a DM and that ill give you your core but that’s just the beginning of it. Arsenal and Wegner need to believe we can win the title and the signings need to reflect that.
Going into the season without SIGNIFICANT quality additions is folly. We all say that we will be Chelsea’s main rival next season, lamenting injuries but we crucially lookthe other way when talking about Aguero or Costa being injured or United’s injury woes. This is where the depth and planning goes into preparation for those injuries.
Lastly we need to continue progressing tactically but more importantly, learn how to win at all costs and worst case scenario to be difficult to beat. We laud our apparent big game mentality but it isn’t there yet. We have always been tough at home, it was our away record that was poor and this season was no different. We won 1 away match vs a top 10 team, more crucially we lost 5 of those matches and drew 3. 6 points from 27 is appalling and needs to change
1. Plan and prepare properly – address deficiencies, make right signings
2. Analyze every opponent and approach each match differently
3. Believe and play like champions
A Gk, CB, DM, LW and ST will do!!
Our player of the season played LW the majority of this season….? Arguably the third best player in the league behind Hazard and Aguero…
Alexis cant play every game…
we need a quality player to rotate with him…..
Nice to read a comment from a fan who can assess the good and bad in order to seek evolution. Too often on here people chastise others for stating our deficiencies when said person is looking at areas we can improve.
I’ve been called pessimistic/negative etc for saying our results against the top sides are poor, but burying your head in the sand and ignoring what our weaknesses clearly are only exacerbates the problems. About time we ditch this blind faith that we have it all to be champions and acknowledge we don’t unless we make the required changes in personnel/approach.
Very well constructed comment, I agree with all you say.
I never disagree that the squad is in need of strengthening. But where I, personally disagree with a lot of people’s views on here is when a lot of our talented and most productive players efficiency and first-team input gets undervalued. Notably with you Charlie, Theo, Giroud and Coquelin.
There’s a difference between constructive discussions about who could potentially improve the squad which i’m all too happy to engage in. But these ‘deficiencies’ you mention are often incredibly skewed and blatantly neglect players input to the first-team to strengthen your argument.
Like mentioning Giroud’s goal tally over his entire span at Arsenal when he was clearly a slow starter, and even the most anti-Giroud fans will admit that he has shown a substantial improvement season to season. Minutes per goal is the most significant statistic for a striker and Giroud’s was World-Class this season. Feel free to explain how this statement is incorrect?
Coquelin you tend to talk of his subdued attacking game when you consistently compare with Schneiderlin, neglecting that in Southampton’s system both he and Wanyama cover each other while the other gets involved in the attack. Coquelin’s role is to win the ball back and get it to our creators. His attacking game has neither had a baring on his role in the first-team, nor had an opportunity to showcase it.
Walcott – Similar to Giroud. His game has obviously improved in leaps and bounds. Chance creation, MPG and assists, his production in all these areas has improved drastically when fit these past few seasons, so highlighting his earlier career struggles are not really relevant when comparing him as a current player. Sanchez won our player of the season with 24 goals 11 assists. Theo’s last full season was 22 goals and 14 assists with a much weaker squad. His season before had a devastating relationship with RVP and assisted him alone between 11-15 times. (sorry i’d look it up, but i remember it was substantial)
I don’t disagree with you that we could use another DM, ST, and GK. I don’t think anyone does. But where you and I don’t see eye to eye is when you mention players of the Sterling calibre to be brought in at the expense of us losing Theo when Theo’s productivity and input to our team and tactic has shown far more positive results than Sterling. We don’t need another tricky winger with questionable final product. We need efficiency. Which agree or disagree, Theo is, and the numbers don’t lie.
I think every fan clearly would want the best for Arsenal, but in my opinion, some of the suggestions you make for us as a club moving forward, would be a backwards step. And I always argue my point constructively.
I don’t know anyone other than 4th place junkies who think these players are world class …. Coquellin I think has the potential but 4 months in EPL limelight doesn’t prove it that’s for sure … On your logic we would be classifying charlie Austen as one of worlds leading strikers and shelving out a packet for him … Giroud is a very decent squad player but Walcott has been over hyped ever since the idiot swede put him in to England squad for no reason …. He is getting his chance it seems at cf but wenger as compensation should go out and buy a griezman or reus type quality player to bolster our attack or we will be left challenging again for cl qualification in 9 months time
There’s nothing skewed about what I compare players based on, I simply can remove my bias and judge things as plainly as they are.
When referencing Girouds goal return over his 3 years at Arsenal it was in direct comparison to Cavani/Higuains goal returns over subsequent seasons highlighting the fact that they’re more proven in delivering 20+ goal campaigns. I disagree Girouds input was world-class this season, he came back and was on fire for a stretch but then was completely MIA when we were hunting for 2nd, and was then dropped for the cup final.
Regarding Theo I never once said Sterling should come in at his expense, I always advocated that Sterling should be talked of along the lines of ADDING to the team instead of reducing the debate to who would suffer from his arrival. I also noted that while Liverpool MAY get a better player for next season it’s pretty evident Sterling is going to be a more influential/better player over the next 5 years. I’m not sold on Theo despite acknowledging his qualities. 1 season in 9 with Arsenal he’s scored 20+ goals (21) yet that’s the apparent marker he’s held to as if he’s been banging them in season after season. Classic case of bias that is seen all to often on here, he’s 26 and has 1 memorable season with us…..kinda says it all, he’s good but not at all great no matter what stats you care to throw my way. One guy used to stats to show how Theo beats Cavani in all departments this season, left out the fact Cavani has scored 25+ goals the last 2 years at PSG, where he’s been crap apparently, then was a 30+ goal a season ST at Napoli. But Theo raped him statistically…..I know who I’d have.
With Coquelin I’ve always maintained he’s terrific at the breakup of play but doesn’t have the skills of a baller that other elite DM’s possess. Nothing to do with his “attacking side”, purely his ball retention, passing through the lines to midfielders, being able to join the attack when teams park the bus. He’s a quality destroyer but Schneiderlin, as you mention, is a player who destroys just as well you possesses far more ability with the ball. You’re not going to sit and tell me he’s come from Charlton at xmas and now has no weakness in his game? It’s 2015 a midfield player at a top club cannot be one-dimensional and pretty much a passenger when the team is in possession, Dm’s have to be able to do the usual stuff but get involved with play. Coquelin is the type of Dm that gets subbed vs Swans as he offers nothing when we have the ball. There’s better DM’s is simply the argument, and only Arsenal fans will disagree with that statement.
So when all’s said and done what’s left after my comments?
– We can buy a better ST
– Walcott has it all to prove and I think we can upgrade.
– We can buy a better DM
Hardly earth shattering stuff yet it’s billed as pessimism incarnate.
@CC: You pride yourself on cold, sober assessment. Answer these simple questions:
1) Do you think the current squad should have enough quality to beat Spurs, Hull, Sunderland and Swansea and draw with Man Utd AT HOME and beat Leicester and Hull and draw with Soton, Stoke, Swansea and Spurs AWAY? 18 points dropped right there.
2) If not, is spending £100M+ and replacing the spine of the team really the rational response based on sober analysis? If it was your money would you not consider finding a way of playing better next time round?
I can’t recollect a single post on here that expressly does not wish for continuous improvement. All I see are different views as to how this is best achieved. To be clear, I accept this squad cannot win the UCL without major investment and first winning the PL a couple of times but believe we have a reasonable chance of the PL over the next 2 or 3 seasons with some shrewd buys, better game management and greater confidence. A better chance than ripping it up, spending massively and starting again. 3 or 4 teams will once again prove next season that big spending and a re-vamp will achieve nothing. We see it every year without fail.
If we off-load 3 or 4, get a decent striker option and a couple of clever squad signings I will be relaxed.
1) It should, but we didn’t. Every club can compile a set of results that ‘should’ have went differently however.
2) Who’s advocating 100+MIL on a new spine?
We need a DM and ST, the GK thing is literally only due to Cech, if we don’t get him we won’t get anyone. So two ADDITIONS is how I see us getting the personnel sorted……how’s that costing 100+MIL?
You keep making out as if my goal is for us to simply splurge on players and call it a day, you’re not reading things if that’s your conclusion. I’m well aware buying 2 players won’t transform us, but it’s step 1 in being ready for a title assault next year.
21 dropped points away from home against top 10 is one stat that sounds appalling – I’ll grant you that. But it is no good having a better record against top teams if you then give it away in silly results to bottom 10 points. The average PL winner will drop 28-29 points across the season – say 5 losses and 7 draws. Going in to every game with a winning mentality is all well and good but it ain’t gonna happen – the history of the PL tells us this. Dropping points against the better teams away from home sounds like going to form for me. Would we feel better dropping these “obligatory” points to the bottom 10?
Overall our away form was good. Chelsea picked up 38 points on the road, we collected 34 points, the same as City. However, Chelsea won 4 more home games than us. 49 points to our 41 points. Doesn’t this tell us that our home form cost us twice as much as our away form?
I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t or couldn’t improve – far from it. Just a little realism needed – most PL winning teams only win around 50% of their away matches. And looking down from high up – apart from Chelsea we settled most of our 2013-14 scores, we’ve had City’s number since that 3-6, seen L’Pool off, drawn and won at OT etc. Our nemesis this season just gone was the “S” teams – Swansea, Spurs, Soton and Stoke. I think most neutrals would see those results as mental weakness – I don’t think anyone is suggesting we cannot beat these teams with what we have.
1. Cech not Casillas
2. Martinez or Lacazette or any top 30 goals per season striker
3. Kondogbia, Schneiderlin Or alternatively Vidal or Gundogan
4. Young moist LB who can learn from Monreal and Gibbs and be 3rd LB
Erm, moist LB?
All said. Specially to AW. Even the most loyalist gooners wont forgive him if he throw our chances away this time. Despite their big chest transfers plan (followed by many axes on their squads) , I think ManShit and specially ManUre will get busy themselves trying to gel each other. So, our main rival will be our bus parking maniac neighbor. Can’t wait to see our first win against the man who called himself special. His smug smiling face haunted my dreams last season. I hope the gunners specially Alexis can comeback in one healthy pieces from their international duties. We will need consistency that running from August to May. COYG!!!!
Well i must say i respect the city owners more so than che and real. They give there manager time and whilst they do provide huge sums of money they dont throw it around like the said duo. Over the last three seasons they have spent in a way that most wealthy clubs spend, just adding little ingredients, opposed to getting the hottest names on planet until a hotter one comes along… which is often.
We are in a similar position to manc now regarding in coming players. We need only small number of ingredients and to lose some left over potato peels, maybe an onion?.
The good thing is that whatever new players do arrive they will not be expected to hit ground running straight off and we can compensate for that after having good quality run of team form, we looked to have finally matured and step it up a notch.
Before we look at what the big spenders will do. Just a few things to consider that happened over the course of the season.
The Big Coq – Clear first-team DM, hard as nails and a defensive powerhouse.
Cazorla – The unsung hero. Re-invented himself in the centre of the park. Interesting fact, since his arrival in the PL, he has more assists than any other player. That’s with the likes of Silva, Mata and Hazard in the league… Criminally under-rated.
Monreal – Fringe player. Many fans wouldn’t have battered an eye-lid (myself included) was he to be sold this time last year. His defensive game has improved out of site, and the improvement on our left flank has been incredible. Sanchez and Monreal lock it down, when in seasons prior there may as well have been a big sign saying ‘attack here and you’ll probably score!’
RB – Bellerin has played with maturity well beyond his years. But I personally think Debuchy is one of our players who will have a great next season. As great as Bellerin’s been, his entertaining attacking skills and rapid pace sometimes mask his defensive frailties. It’s fine, he’s still a kid who will undoubtedly improve! But Debuchy offers a lot at both ends, and a bit more security if we play Theo or Ox on the right. Regardless Sagna has been hardly missed….
Gabs – CB issues we said? Well we now have four, and a fifth choice in Hayden.
Giroud – Say what you will, but 19 goals spending 3 1/2 months on the side-lines is impressive. I too believe we’re a quality striker short, at least before Akpom emerges (I rate that kid very, very highly. Technique, speed, composure and loads of confidence in himself) But if we bring in Cavani, Benz, Higuain, Lacazette or whoever, I think they’d have a much harder task at starting ahead of Giroud than a lot of you think..
Mesut – his 25min season highlights video says more than I could say in a billion words. Looked every bit a 42.5million dollar player upon return, silenced his many critics and we’re obviously building around him. IMO he and Cazorla are looking to control games, that’s been their area that’s most improved and as a team we’ve improved immensely.
Now, I’m as frustrated as anyone that these issues weren’t addressed when the need was so glaring. Though how we got there is irrelevant. These are improvements that occurred over the course of the season and we’re stronger for it…
I’m not for one minute suggesting we don’t need to strengthen, we do, and will. But before you hit the panic button when City, Chelsea or United buy big, take a big breath, look at our squad! There’s strong indication we’ve moved strongly for Cech, there seems to be an abundance of quality midfielders available and our attack needs some clearing out before we will eventually move for one of the many, many available strikers..
Just because the press links us with Higuain, Martinez, Vietto or X, or Schneiderlin, Marchisio, Vidal, Krychowiak doesn’t mean we should panic if one of our rumoured targets heads elsewhere. It could just mean we have another target who the Manager and club think will be a better fit… Some deals take time, and negotiation isn’t as simple as career mode on fifa.
Cech,Schneiderlin or Vidal an Martinez addition enough to win epl 2015-2016
I strongly believe our current players are very good and the spirit and self believe is back. But we so need new additions like dm, st, lw and gk. The aditions plus our new found spirit we don’t need to worry about other clubs improving. Adding that there is no cl qualifiers for us the title will be ours. My strong believe come from every season we think we improved to challenge for the title then we lost players but now its a hole new ball game. Can’t wait for the new additions and for the new season to start. GOYG