In my opinion, our owners showed their true ambition in January when their manager said the squad was short in attack and needed help, help that never arrived. Whisper it quietly, but the Kroenke family seemed quite content with a top five finish and the revenue that came with it.
Some Gooners argued that Arsenal had long-term targets lined up for the summer, so there was no point in undermining those plans with a short-term fix. The Gunners spent months playing Merino as a makeshift forward, with full backs as attacking substitutes.
Indecision holding Arsenal back
So if there was one club that should have spent months negotiating and come flying out of the traps this transfer window, it should have been us.
Yet despite Benjamin Šeško and Viktor Gyökeres both reportedly making it clear that the Emirates is their preferred destination, Andrea Berta continues to spin plates. Despite having months to understand the asking prices and determine whether we agree with the fees, still we haggle over every last penny and remain indecisive. So much so that a Plan C is now being mentioned.
It may be a tactic by our recruitment team to show Leipzig and Sporting Lisbon that we will not be bullied into matching their valuations. But apparently, there is now temptation to go for Ollie Watkins for a lot less.
Yes, the same Ollie Watkins we made an offer for in the winter, which reportedly offended Aston Villa because of how low it was. A bid that continues to divide our fanbase to this very day.
Some believe we submitted the bid knowing it would be rejected, just so we could say we tried. Villa were still in Europe at the time, as well as the FA Cup and competing for a top five finish, so they were only going to sell at a premium price.
Others say the interest was genuine, but not strong enough to warrant overpaying when the money was being saved for our first choice target.
Watkins must not be the only solution
If we did not buy Ollie Watkins to save money to buy Ollie Watkins, we become a laughing stock.
Clubs accept that you have to pay a premium in January. Financially, it made little sense to do that for a 29 year old if the intention was to replace him in a few months. But he is better than any finisher we have, so he only could have improved our chances of catching Liverpool or winning the Champions League. To turn that opportunity down, only to end up with him anyway, would sum up the lack of planning within our recruitment team.
Even before failing to qualify for the Champions League, Villa were under pressure not to breach PSR rules. Now in the Europa League, they might not be able to turn down an offer for one of their best talents.
Mikel Arteta believes that Šeško has a high ceiling. If the 22 year old needs time to develop, especially in front of goal, then Watkins is the perfect senior partner to rotate with him.
Ollie Watkins can be one of the strikers we sign, but he cannot be the only one.
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Dan Smith
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The Kroenke’s are not just in the sports for the like of it, they are shrewd business people so their approach will be a bit different
Yes your totally on point at some point I asked my self why am I even supporting this crazy football club that has no fan interest at heart..clubs will be busy doing the needful only arsenal will be busy linking players here and there and with no assurance of getting any..arsenal as a football club is just a joke that’s why I don’t blame evra while saying arsenal is like a netflix his totally right until proven otherwise
Oh I know that lol
Rather than signing the old Watkins who has very little to no resale value, Zirkzee or Vlahovic would be worth to gamble on if Arsenal can’t sign Sesko or Gyokeres
Arteta’s tactical and training system is still not consistent enough to play with a small CF, so we’ll need a towering one to compensate for the flaws of his system
If Arsenal want to save money by signing an old CF, they could try to poach Sorloth from Atletico Madrid. He could create a good partnership with his compatriot, Odegaard
Imo Gai, Arteta and the Arsenal board are ambitious enough why dilly dally on Sesko or Gyokeres? These two are elite CF.
The market is highly inflated and no good CF would come cheap. No need signing any CF that won’t be better than Havertz or Merino.
Arsenal needs to show we are a big club and Arteta should prove he knows what is required for his team success by early signings.
I think with 3 right players we should be ready for next season.
@Gai
#I mean if Arteta and the Arsenal board are ambitious enough…
I guess Arsenal are waiting until Saka, Saliba and Lewis-Skelly extend their contracts before signing a new CF, since their salary increases would likely tighten our wage bill
We have money mate
But we can’t breach FFP
We are not close to that
Net spend is like 15 million in the last 3 windows and we just made about 10 million and reduced the wage bill
I read an article today that stated Gyokeres has informed his family and friends about his expectations for the upcoming season, and he expects to be at AFC. However, I also read that we’ve agreed on terms with Sesko. It is getting vexing at this stage
I read that he’s threatening to go on strike if he can’t get his way. Just the type of player we need.
There’s 3/4 Premier League players we could probably buy who’d be more suited to our requirements.
Jax,
Your logo has changed colour. 😂👍
Unexplainable Derek!!!
Jax,
It looks like your first post of 5.37, you were going green at the gills, and your second post at 5.43 you were going red with rage. 😂🤣👍
Jax,
Correction, I don’t know where I got the green from. Your 5.37 post had you feeling Blue, and your second post of 5.43 had you Red with rage.
There, I got there in the end. My bad,🤦♂️🤣😂👍
Does one play for Brentford and another play for Crystal Palace. If so I agree.
Watkins is past his peak even Emery benched him while Duran was there. Why are we even talking about him?We need a young talented striker even if it takes a season to bed him in.
Duran was a wonder super sub.
he’s striking because he feels the club is reneging on a verbalagreement they’d made previously. You want a striker who is compliant and subservient? I’ll take the alpha male.
He can’t be striking as the season has finished and pre-season training hasn’t started yet.
“Ollie Watkins can be one of the strikers we sign, but he cannot be the only one.” He bloody well will have to be the only one, if we are going to sign a quality winger and another midfielder if Partey walks. Vultures are hovering over Partey who is a quality player to grab on a free. If we sign Watkins we have Havertz as well. 2 strikers. But we have one quality right winger and creative midfielder. They need proper backup or else they’ll have the same mixed season they had last year due to being overplayed.
+Jesus. We still have Jesus on our side!
Agreed on the other issues. The left wing is a key one. And Noni Madueke as cover for Saka on the right is actually a pretty intriguing new rumour today.
Watkins is a proven striker in the EPL. Also brings the aerial threat that Gyokeres doesn’t.
But yep, the bean counters will certainly have something to say in any conversation about Watkins.
The financial years on the last day of this month. The reason deals aren’t being announced is because clubs want the money In next years finances. Chill out guys signings are coming.
Liam, that doesn’t explain why liverpool, city115, chelsea, manure etc are announcing new signings though does it?
To be fair, Liam’s quite right that it’s a club issue when it comes to the one that we believe is done, but it’s apparently a La Liga financial year issue, not an Arsenal EPL one (Sociedad).
None of those other EPL clubs has announced any signings from La Liga either, you will note.
Assuming it’s done and just not announced yet, we are right there with the other clubs not in the Club World Cup.
For context:
– Liverpool has 1 announced signing. From the Bundesliga. The 2nd maybe tomorrow. Also from the Bundesliga (literally the same club!).
– Man Utd has only announced 1. (Cunha, EPL).
CWC clubs:
– City has announced 4. (Serie A, EPL, Ligue 1).
– Chelsea has announced 5. (EPL, Brazil, Portugal, Ligue 1, Ecuador).
I would check that mate
Other Prem clubs have done business as well
It’s correct (or at least was as of yesterday, Pool has added another… from the EPL).
Easy to look all this up.
I’m equally concerned about getting quality additions in for preseason, but the point is that success in the window isn’t only measured by how fast the new player announcements are made. No-one has beaten us to a signing we were seriously in for. It’s early days still.
Liam, this is what we’ve been hearing ever since we ‘signed’ Zubimendi, and I get it, but do you remember this experience in previous years for us or any other club? Or have we only done business with Spanish clubs in the winter window?
He’s a mug if he strikes over something that can’t be proven one way or the other.
I’m so sick of the way this club does business. I have said it so many times now, they don’t care about the club and they don’t care about the fans. Sure, trophies would bring in a one-time financial reward but why would they risk millions with zero certainty when they can just keep doing things the way they have been and hope to get ECL football each year.
I don’t think we will get Sesko or Gyökeres now. We apparently can’t even be bothered to offer a contract to Jonathan David who is FREE and a much better option that Watkins. This club is a joke and this is why all the other fans take the piss out of us. Penny pinching in the extreme when it matters but will find the money for yet another poxy defender.
More and more starting to see it 😀
I’m so done, Dan. I don’t agree with the crazy spending from City or Chelsea, particularly in the past, but the ultra conservatism is ridiculous. City just picked up Cherki for 30M! That is mental. Why didn’t the club even look at him at that price?
Why have we not gone in for David? Why are we not seeing even we can get Sancho on loan from MU? Why aren’t we doing anything? They’re all hung up on Sesko like he’s the new messiah or something. The guy is probably going to go on and be a great player but there are others out there who can do a job now. Gyökeres has openly stated he wants Arsenal but nothing from the club?
Right now, I would take anyone other than Watkins, and that’s mainly out of principle. The way Arsenal does business makes the club a laughing stock. Who knew the famous 40m +£1 Suarez fiasco would follow us around for the rest of time. It perfectly demonstrates the mentality. It’s not even like Arteta hasn’t had money, he is just obsessed with buying players in positions we don’t need them.
WTF are we looking a Marc Geuhi? Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a great player but he ain’t getting in the first XI ahead of Gabriel or Saliba, so what’s the point? Kiwior has more than proven he can be a great understudy when called upon plus we have Calafiori and Ben White, SO WHY DO WE NEED ANOTHER DEFENDER!!!!
I hated Arteta as a player and have hated him as a manager. I think he is a great coach and has overachieved in his time as Arsenal boss and deserves a lot of respect for returning the club to the top of the league again and competing for the title but he has done it in the least satisfying way possible. How does someone do that? Finish 2nd for 3 consecutive seasons, which is a great achievement but manage to universally get the fan base to hate him at the same time. Amazing.
Sorry about the rant.
So I’m guessing your one of these who think we have taken great strides under the Koronke Family lol ?
I think after this season more Gooners will see it
I’m not entirely sure whether your response is an affirmation or a criticism. I thought I had gone to great lengths to state how well Arteta and the board has done to get the club back to the top of the league and they have spent a lot of money in the process.
However, I have also stated that I believe Arsenal is nothing more than a business to them and as such they will make decisions that best serve to sustain that business and make it lucrative and I do not think that spending excessively falls into line with that ethos. And tbh who can blame them. If you look at Newcastle and Aston Villa who are leveraged up to the eyeballs and have to sell players every window, that is what the future holds if you play big and it doesn’t work out.
What irks me is the constant deliberation and paralysis by analysis. This may well be more reflective of Arteta than the board, but I think my opinion of their intent is still valid.
Having read some of your comments on another thread your opinion of the Kroenkes is a little clearer now 🤣
a lot of the cheaper purchases are from players with attractive release clauses. These contracts are not often public. An interested player and/or agent would disclose that to a team he’s interested in joining. My bet is AFC was not courted by Cherki.
Regarding Man City and their signings so far this year, on the face of it there are a few quality young signings at reasonable prices. They’ve done their business early to bed them in during the summer recess. Well run and decisive club which we appear not to be. This is nothing new, even under AW we appeared to be ditherers when it came to transfer windows. I put in down to the owners who aren’t really football fans and consider this great club to be merely a profitable franchise. Stay in the UCL and we are happy.
Man Shitty have unlimited resourses and a desire to ignore fair play spending rules – they don’t need to dither. We do. We can’t bend to unreasonable transfer fees for Sesko and Gyokeres. their asking prices are more expensive than proven EPL players like Mbeumo and Cunha.
Liverpool can ?
I thought we had a 300.million war chest
I’ve got £50 quid in my wallet Dan, doesn’t mean I have to spend it on an overpriced item just to prove I’ve got it
is that a case of not having ambition?
Some might see it as that SueP, others might say what a clever person I am!!
With respect I think your say they have ambition whatever they do and wherever we finish In the league your say it’s okay lol
No SueP,
It doesn’t mean that Ken1945 doesn’t have ambition. It mean that he went into a shop that only excepts cards, no cash excepted. 😂🤣👍😉
Keep it
We are going to buy a Just Arsenal box
Apparently you buy a box there is no waiting list
So if every fan on here paid like 100 pound lol
We could then all share it lol
Think of the discussions that would go on!! 😑😂😂
I’m saving my £50 any more offers?!
Oh no on a matchday believe it or not at the Emirates Im just a bag of nerves
Like Cup Finas – literally can’t cope lol.