Are Arsenal Becoming More Ruthless? by AI
“Please keep the values of the club,” that was the departing statement of Arsene Wenger to the club. Since then, Arsenal have frozen out Mesut Ozil, laid off 55 staff members and ended the two decades of service for Jerry Quy as the club’s mascot.
At the same time, Arsenal have integrated Per Mertesacker, Edu and Mikel Arteta back into the management structure of the squad. Unai Emery, Ivan Gazidis and Raul Sanllehi have all left the club. There has been a disruptive global pandemic. Arsenal have slid into mid-table mediocrity. Stan Kroenke has released 45 million pounds for a marquee transfer. These are not normal times. The club has gotten desperate and has had to rethink many of its processes.
The scouting network in Europe has been gutted while that of South America has been largely maintained. Data and video scouting has been adapted going forward. Players like David Luiz and Willian have been signed on the cheap. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was NOT sold to Wolves for chicken change. The management demanded 40 million euros for Bellerin while selling Martinez for half of that.
We are taking the highest quality shots in the league this season and have narrowly lost three of our toughest fixtures. Every other minute, a decision is been taken and some fat is being cut. It is not so clear where all of this is going. But one thing is sure: we are going somewhere and is that place. .. ruthless?
The values that Arsene Wenger has cultivated in the club has become associated in some quarters with failure and underachievment. Modern clubs are not so old-fashioned anymore. It is all business now. Perhaps this is true. Perhaps Arsenal are modernizing like all the big super clubs. Perhaps the values of Highbury are too burdensome, holding us back from glory. The problem with losing those values for short-sighted ruthlessness is that they are difficult to gather again. Hopefully we are doing the right thing.
Agboola Israel
I agree with you.
Everyone has to evolve to stay ahead of the curve, the fact we as a club are only doing this now is beyond belief imo and a massive reason why we have fallen so far behind other clubs.
Hopefully with the new direction were heading in we will see us becoming a force again in a few years time
Interesting thoughts. The great Arsene managed to compete while maintaining the values. The fact that no one seems able to do it shows how great the great Arsene was.
14 years straight of not being competitive in the league is competing? No trophies 9 years straight is competing? Ok then!
Majority of time we were top 4
That’s as high as you will get with current owner
We gone backwards since he left
I agree Kroenke is a terrible owner, but remember he didn’t pick the team, and do the coaching.
Time does not stand still so what was will not always translate to the present. Even in Wenger’s time the club was changing. How can the enormous entity that is Arsenal throughout the world hope to compete in the EPL and beyond without taking a more self centred approach? The untold riches that Sky and other media companies have brought to football is at the heart of this as ruthlessness as billionaires and sovereign states get in on the act of increasing their wealth or their country’s profile.
I suppose you either jump on board or remain like the Norwiches of the world
Not a particularly pleasant assessment but I think it will be hard to revert back to what Wenger hoped would remain
Nice post and well thought SueP. As one of the people who mourn the loss of values your post has changed my perspective.
Sue P, What you are outlining , though I can see with reluctance, is what I also agree with, albeit with my own reluctance.
And what you and I are both saying I believe, IS THAT WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE THAN TO SUP WITH THE DEVIL – THE DEVIL BEING THE WHOLE CORRUPT NATURE OF BILLIONAIRE OWNERSHIP AND THE OBSCENITY OF ALL WAGES AT PREM LEVEL.
The bleak facts are that UNLESS a club is able to financially compete, at least to some degree, with the hungriest sharks and nastiest devils in the PREM (Man City, Chelsea, United, etc, then we may as well give up ever expecting to win the Prem ever again.
Well into the future, I remain hopeful that fan outrage and social change – accelerated by the Covid after effects on our consciences – will EVENTUALLY bring a massively needed change in decent values and that we can loosen the grip of thse devils and sharks who run the game and who own clubs. And that a more decent fundamentally fairer Prem may emerge! THAT IS THE DREAM!
But that is for the long time future – though it MAY come quicker than I dream of – and for now, we either swallow our human values and join in with the morally corrupt folk who run clubs, OR we become also rans.
What a bleak choice !
That is how I see it Jon. I wish it was different
It’s about time arsenal got back to where it was so some of these steps are really necessary
If Arsenal was ruthless Ozil Mustafi Socrates Holding Elneny Kolasinac Bellerin Niles Guendouzi Nelson Luiz Chambers would have been offloaded in the summer. Aouar would have been bought in not Willian. Arsenal is operating exactly the same as when Wenger was in charge on and off the field. Liverpool Man City Leicester and Tottenham have joined Arsenal Man U and Chelsea to make it a top 7 with now Wolves and Everton making It a top 9.
Imagine when it reaches top 20? Wouldn’t that be something.
Wyoming, your theory may well be largely correct(though I do not agree on Nelson nor AMN) but I have little doubt that what you outline ,or most of it, WILL be done in time.
But with ruthlessness comes practability and in many of these unwanted players we HAVE tried to rid us of them but no one has wanted them. We also have to live with the fact, not theory, that we have an owner who does not share our fan love for the club he misruns and will not spend what is needed for quicker success.
Ruthlessness with putting the wrongs of the past right WILL take the time it takes – esp with this pandemic changing every normal thing – and to pretend otherwise is just empty rhetoric.
Words are instant, BUT action to make those words mean something DOES take time. THAT IS WHAT I AM SAYING!
Agboola I would call it “REGAINING our long lost values” after a decade of ignoring the vital importance of solidity and proper defence in ALL top teams! Total difference in footbal, philosophy from your false argument.
Any fool manager can entertain in irresponsible fashion, with both full backs pushed up and no solidity in midfield.
Many teams, such as Bournemouth, and others wedded to attack but with NO effective defence, found this out to their cost.
Unless you’d rather put style above results.
I would NOT and hence our differing philosophies!
I do not pretend that we have the attacking balance right YET and say this, as I KNOW THAT SOME WILL TRY TO MISREPRESENT WHAT I SAY.
But it a long accepted adage among pro football folk that you build an effective team from the back . As Klopp has done so brilliantly, esp with VVD and ALLISON , which transformed that team.
BASIC KNOWLEDGE , AT LEAST FOR REALISTS.
Standing for the true values no matter what should actually still be prioritised. Situations I believe could have been handled better.