We are all very hopeful that Mikel Arteta is progessing well in his total rebuild of the Arsenal squad, and the boss and Edu made great inroads into clearing out the unwanted players in the January window, which Arteta described as “unprecedented”.
But we are far from finished in the project, and there will be a great need for funds in the summer to bring in players that fit Arteta’s system, but with our European status in jeopardy unless we win the Europa League, how much can we expect to have available for the transfer market? Arteta told Football.London: “We don’t know yet because we have so many things to do. We have people on loan, people finishing contracts,”
“There was a lot going on in the last two transfer windows that had to be done. The amount of things we had to do which was probably unprecedented and it will be again in the summer.
“So we are trying to put a plan together to see with the resources that we have to see how much we want to improve, how we’re going to do it and at what cost.
“That has so many factors attached to it. It’s not just about one thing or about just an amount, it’s about a project that time-wise, how to build it is going to face some effort from everybody.
“We know that and the challenging moments that we are facing at the moment are making it even harder.”
“I want a sustainable club,” he continued. “We all want a club that can be run with our own resources.
“It’s great that we have a club with the support of our owners and we have had that in the summer when it was much needed because of everything that has happened with COVID, and what has happened with the club in the last few years without the Champions League and the heat that that took.
“But our responsibility and everything that we are planning from the future is that the club can go back to being sustainable on it’s own and being all the time as strong as possible in every department. The financial part of it is crucial as well.”
“[Europe]’s another big important factor because that gives us the opportunity again to keep our club involved in Europe whether it’s in the Europa League or Champions League,”
“We know the aim is all the time to be in the Champions League, but at the moment things are looking difficult, but possible. The financial package that is attached to it at the moment is really, really important.”
So that fact makes it even more imperative that we beat Olympiakos and get just a little closer to European football next season. We REALLY need the money for reinforcements!
I like his words here. He aptly portrays the situation that has transpired at the club since he took over. My only worry is that if the project is a long-term one, then the focus should be on the relatively younger players, and transfer targets should reflect that. The only player who completely contradicts this principle is Willian, though he is playing well now. I hope MA can get a tune out of William and Konstantinos, and keep Luiz as the elder statesman. If we want to get a decent sum, players to sell might be Granit, Callum, Eddie, Alex, and as much as I hate to think about it, either one of Joe or Ainsley. This would take time, I think the whole of next year and beyond. I hope we come unscathed through that period.
At the moment results have been inconsistent and MA has frustrated me a lot, but I feel somehow that things might get a turn for the better.
COYG!!
Well said Sid,.I can not figure out what direction are we going in? Are we going in the direction where we rely on our own youth and academy system or are we going indirection of buying talent from outside?. Even our fans are confused what they want. Some want youth to be given more chances and some want club to go big even though we have spent a lot in last 2-3 seasons which has yeilded less success. For me it should be the academy route, we need to make the academy stronger and better to produce more talent as it’s cheaper solution and more sustainable as well. People who blame owner and club for not spending big are same people who when are pointed to Man city and Chelsea success call these clubs as ones with no values and buying the titles. They say we are a club with history and set of values but then other hand in most of the post same people blame owner for not spending and going big. Basically when ever we loose and manager status is questioned then everything falls back onto owner for not buying Messis and Ronaldos of this world. If I was owner of Arsenal I won’t spent a penny on the club because of what we have spent in 2 years has been wasted instead of going up we are are going down hill. If spending £200 million a season is the answer then what’s the point of having Areta at the club we have better chance of winning stuff with a more proven manager and give the budget to him. Look at our squad worth they are not cheap players and if he can not win things with this squad then he is not good enough.
Yes. But lets give MA till this season’s end. It will show his direction I hope. There have been glimpses, but the problem is we are inconsistent. Lets hope our inconsistencies are ironed out next season.
I liked your post but had to think,at least for a moment, to which players all those first names applied! Perhaps you feel more affection for players than I do. Just a theory, as it might not be so.
It was easier to type their first names, lol.
The main problem which Arteta will face is to realize “assets” to fund the acquisition of upgrades in the positions he considers we are weak.In the present economic climate it will be extremely difficult to arrange clean cash sales for the likes of Bellerin,Xhaka and Torreria .That being the case we may obliged to sell on some younger players, who under normal circumstances would have been retained for future development because they are more marketable than the experienced guys I have mentioned.This may frustrate fans, me included, but there does not seem a practical alternative unless the owner puts his hands in his pockets, which is not going to happen.In addition to the experienced Lacca, I expect Nketiah, AMN,Nelson ,and possibly Willock and Chambers to be made available.Lacca will move abroad but I expect a lot of interest from English Clubs for the others.Saliba is most certainly a sellable asset but hopefully he and Arteta will be fully reconciled before next season.A very interesting transfer market lies ahead, that’s for sure.
Grandad, some sound points about lack of money, which some Gooners never seem to realise has now changed completely , since Covid, virtually everywhere.
I think players over a certain age are now practically worthless in terms of getting any real transfer fee.. I don’t see a rush of clubs willing to invest in LACA at all, save perhaps for a tiny fee. When you add on the wages he would want I see great difficulty, at his age , in getting him off our books. This will apply throughout football.
On the
other hand, our young players are still our greatest financial and playing asset- same with all clubs obviously – so the real trick is in knowing which ones will never make the grade with us and can be let go.
I’d say Willock, Nketiah, Nelson, AMN, Guendouzi, Torreira are all near certainties to leave this summer and hope we get SOME reasonable money for them. Because I see no other players fetching more than peanuts or anything at all, of the ones we can afford to let leave, that is. So NOT Saka , Tierney, ESR etc.
Possibly Chambers to go too, who is still youngish, but unless we sign a decent RB and manage to unload BELLERIN(please God!) , who I do not remotely see going to a giant club abroad, as some false rumours are saying, I do not see us letting Chambers leave either.
I agree with what you are saying regarding giving youth more playing time. As we sit in 10th, CL out of sight and FA Cup gone, shouldn’t we have been finding playing time for youth?
Whether starting games or subbing, this lost year was a perfect throw away to blood the youth mixed with veterans.
For example, blood Saliba with Gabriel (future partnership) and veteran Luiz at times; even some minutes as a sub. Wasted time & lost opportunity in early Europa stages that even Arteta admits.
Try AMN in the midfield with Partey; what a high energy combo that would be, rather than Xhaka in seemingly every match.
There were opportunities to find minutes for the youth, even Nelson at times. Now is a perfect example where Martinelli idles on the bench, but Willian gets sub appearances.
This year, especially after December, was the perfect time to gauge their contributions and how it would impact transfer decisions going forward.
Can AMN fill a midfield role, or do we need to invest this Summer? Is Balogun ready to replace Edie and be a backup Striker, seeing how we may only have league games next year, no Europe?
Not only that Durand, this would have likewise increased their respective values on the open market, should we decide and/or need to sell them off…such a wasted year in many regards…very concerned about Arteta’s statement, as he sounded like a company pitch man…I get it, we are who we are, but it’s depressing nonetheless…maybe if he truly understood this fact he wouldn’t have wasted considerable funds and valuable playing time on Willian…like I’ve said many times before, while I do rate Willian, he simply made no sense considering our supposed “rebuild” and obvious financial constraints
Very true, for a rebuild there has not been a lot of trust put into developing the youth. I’d rather some loan players stayed and learned Arteta’s tactics and strategies.
We loaned 2 midfielders, yet loaned OUT AMN and Willock to play in another teams midfield? Not much sense, plus incurring a financial loss for the loan fees of Ceballos and Odegaard.
Willian should be supplemental player, to pick things up when Martinelli and Nelson falter, not take away their time playing and developing.
Our time is better spent blooding the youth as we finish out the year. Not appeasing Willian or prolonging Luiz’s career.
Edu, perhaps time to be assertive and ring the changes.
👍 👍 👍 Good sound discussion points.
I’ve just read the idiot’s guide to club financing. This club could be in for a very tough ride. With projected losses of over 250M for the next three years, North London could truly be in the red for a long time to come. And this does not include income losses if we fail to qualify for Europe. For the time being, we need to forget “self-sustainability” and hope that our present billionaire owner will be prepared to dig a bit deeper into his pockets.
I will be placing an order for new “Kroenke in” signs.
It is a bit ironic.
Some complain so much about our lack of spending, when we in fact have spent more than all clubs except Man C and Man U over the latest 10 years.
And we should probably count ourselves lucky, Kroenke seems to be very robust financially, so he can keep on keeping us afloat.