IS IT POSSIBLE TO BUILD A WINNING ARSENAL IN ONE WINDOW? by Nicholas
In my opinion, Emery’s best squad right now with the injuries situation and the balance he is looking out to is the pattern of 3.4.1.2. However, Emery will face the problem with his personnel and that’s how he can lift his Arsenal team to being able to compete with the best in the EPL.
Right now, in that pattern we would get a squad that reads like below: –
———–Lacazette—Aubameyang——-
———————–Ramsey/Ozil————————
Kolasinac—–Torreira—-Xhaka—-Maitland-Niles
—-Koscielny/Monreal——–Sokratis———Mustafi
———————–Leno————————
However, to get this squad to become winners in the short sprint of a single window would be investing in the right places. First in attack, Lacazette and Aubameyang continue to look like a potent partnership that should be let loose to flourish. Their duet has been affected by some ineffective support personnel, in the likes of Ozil and Ramsey. Emery can get rid of the two in this window and replace them with Hakim Ziyech, the high flying Moroccan from Ajax who can score goals, he has done 10, can give assists, he has 5 and these statistics are in just 13 games. To assist him, Emery should recall Reiss Nelson, school Iwobi in the role as well as allow Emile Smith-Rowe to fight for the role of Deputy in chief. If they all fail to stamp their authority, Emery still got Mkhitaryan to bring in here, he gave a good account of himself in that role against Southampton, scoring twice though Arsenal lost the match. With a player who can shoot from outside, who can dribble, and who can make those defense splitting passes, Ziyech could be the man to bring the click in the duet of Lacazette and Aubameyang – consistently.
There is no need for changes in the centre. Xhaka, Torreira and Guendouzi are doing a good job and with players like Maitland-Niles and Elneny able to come in, perhaps Denis Suarez if Arsenal can get him would be a perfect acquisition to enhance competition in this area.
But it is in the defense and the wing backs that Emery can finally stamp his repackage. He should get rid of Mustafi, Koscielny, and Monreal and if possible, he should also sell Kolasinac. Mustafi is too inconsistent; Koscielny and Monreal are in the wrong end of 30 and often out injured. Kolasinac is injury prone too. Who to bring in?
Alex Telles (Kolasinac): 25Million, and arguably an upgrade to Kolasinac. The Brazilian has won lots of trophies with both Porto and Galatasaray and knows what winning is about.
Stevan Savic (Mustafi): has been the mainstay in the Atletico Madrid exploits and would bring in grit and fight in the defense more than what Mustafi brings and will be consistent. He would cost 40Million.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Koscielny) – Koscielny served Arsenal for a long period and Koulibaly would continue the tradition with a world class performance. He would be costly – but if Liverpool could spend such figures, Arsenal should show similar ambitions. If we fail to get Koulibaly because of competition or even the current club Napoli, refusing to listen to such plans from Arsenal, then a player like Inigo Martinez Berridi from Athletic Bilbao. He could be enticed with possibilities of playing in Europe next season with Bilbao sitting dangerously in the relegation zone, this should not be tough.
Kieran Tierney (Monreal) – at 21 and costing just 12million, he would be a bargain and maybe Arsenal don’t have to sell Monreal as Tierney comes in so as to encourage the youngster to settle with lesser pressure. Monreal can be given a year longer and could be allowed to leave on a free once the contract ends. Bellerin is also there to help out. Celtic would be almost unable to prevent the purchase.
Once these acquisitions are done, Arsenal’s January squad would look very menacing.
———–Lacazette—Aubameyang——-
———————–Ziyech————————
Telles—–Torreira—-Xhaka—-Bellerin
Sokratis———Koulibaly/Martinez———Savic
———————–Leno————————
With these squad changes, Arsenal can fight back for a better finish to the season.
Nicholas Oyoo
I wonder how big impact will be from Raul and Sven in the club which has a Board and owner who dnt want to invest any money at all.
Can we built a team which can fight for the PL without spending big?
I just hope that by now everybody in the club knows there are lots of players who are not good enough and wont improve.
It is a myth that the board does not spend, fact is we prioritize the wrong players. The board did give us Ozil, Xhaka, Mustafi, Leno, Auba, Laca, Torrera over the years.How did Spurs get Loris, Delli, Erikson,Son, Chelsea get Kante, Liverpool get Mane, Salah, Shakiri. And not to mention the “one for the future” and Wengers gems which never materialized – Zelalam, Bielik,Jeff Rene Adeliede, etc. How can you compete in a physical EPL with 30+ players – Monreal, Socrates, Kos, Lich and novices like Mavo and Holding and useless Chambers, Jenko? Remember Emery’s Seville defeated Liverpool years back. It is a collective failure of Raul and Sven (for Socrates/Mikhi/Leno/Lich) and previous scouts.
Well for those in control of AFC, 8-2,6-0, 10-2 was accepted, loosing 5-1 may not be that bad for them.
Board do not spend. They sell and then buy. This is not investing in the club. Wenger made lots of bad decisions in transfer market, but what Im saying is that now, even already last summer, Board had to buy players on positions we knew we have problems. They only managed to cover CM but I dnt think we are cool even there… Xhaka is not good enough for PL, and he is mentaly unstable.
Mentally unstable? Like the comment!The whole squad is unstable save torrera and laca. If we had good defense we could have won 1-0 both our last games, thats 4 points dropped because of Emery’s philosophy to win 4-3 or 5-4.
To sign new players they first have to dump out the deadwood, instead they added more deadwood – Lich, Socrates, Leno, Mihki.
Soon we will be competing for top 10 with Everton, Wolves, Leicester city if we keep adding aging players to our squad.
I dnt think all of them are deadwood. Maybe they are not on the level of Modric but I hope Emery will make a good use of some of them cos it is unrealistic to hope we will change everybody.
he bought useless players,! as I always say no investor in his business mind is going to throw away cash to the manager. he does not know how to manage big players. Ozil and Lac are becoming an issue. next will be Abu. have you seen any board members even attending any of the matches? deep inside ithink they are regrating hiring someone who represents the later years of Wenger.
Spot on ! Our club are a Poundland club with a Poundland owner mentality. Forget the board as in financial matters they arepuppet sof Kroenke. Raul, Hiss and Svenare football people and know the game but are not miracle workeres. Yes as you correcdtly say, many buying mistakes have been made and we are still suffering from the awful likes of Mustafi, Elneny, Xhaka and several others, even some since Emery came too. But we are where we are and the problem is that Kroenke is content to stay where we are, whereas we fans are not. All this “if we only got him or him or someone else ” is mere talk and will change NOTHING. IF we are serious about giving our club a decent chance of another PREM title or a serious CL challenge, we NEED TO REMOVE KROENKE. Nothing short of that will make enough diffence to to change anything that ultimately MATTERS! We are like a car with an engine that does not work and all some people merely want to do is pump up the slightly flat tyres. As for Xhaka and his excess of testosterone he is like a 14 year old in a mans body and all the more pitiful for it.
We have to spend soo much to sort out this team and that won’t happen in january. What emery need to do for now is focus on defensive structure, he should also player 4 at the back and instruct the two full backs never go forward at the same time. Also, torriera needs to stop going forward as we need his skill set further back protecting the back four, i enjoyed his goal against spurs but he should never be in that position. I know all of this sounds basic but i can’t count how many times in a match kolasinac is out of postion when his fellow right back is in a forward postion too, he is so poor defensively and all he wants is to go forward forgetting he is a defender first. All our defenders are erratic, lack defensive awareness, marking and tackling skills, so emery needs them to focus more on keeping a solid shape rather than trying to help in scoring all the time, let the attackers do their job. I believe that until we focus on building a defensive structure we will never be good at the back because i doubt we will spend the money to get a player like koulibaly. In terms of the attack, we need wingers and that’s clear for everyone to see.
Koulibaly is 90 mils. No chance.
Willy Orbsn RB Leipzig would be a great addition. We need 2 new CBs..
Kosc is used
Holding out
Mustafi horrible
A nice fantasy wish list but a fantasy wish is all it is. In the real world we who live on Planet Earth, not Planet Wish, know full well that the problem is
KROENKE. EVERYTHING STARTS AND FINISHES WITH THE OWNER, AS IT DOES AT ALL CLUBS. Sending SANTA CLAUS YOUR WISH LIST IS THE ACTION OF A CHILD. ADULTS KNOW THAT IF WE REALLY INTEND TO FORCE CHANGE THAT WORKS,WE HAVE TO FORCE OUT KROENKE, BY KEEPING THE STADIUM EMPTY OR NEAR EMPTY FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES. Otherwise you are just wishing , but not prepared to take action. As we did against Wenger and which forced the owner to get rid of him. Fan power works, IF acted upon. Just talking about it though achieves nothing!
Jon, what are you suggesting we do, pay £1760 (my present price while in the Europa Cup, almost £2000 if in Champions League) for a season ticket and then boycott games, there brave words if you haven’t got a season ticket. Then again if you stop paying for your season ticket you won’t then get it back because of the waiting list. Unfortunately it’s a catch 22 situation.
Arsenal know it and they’ve got us by the Niags
No Kenny they have you by the ⚽️Anyone with any sense wouldn’t keep spending nearly 2 grand without seeing something change. I’m not slating you, just don’t make excuses for wasting your money no one forces you to pay it. There are still empty seats most weeks some people have a mind
Well said John ?
Correct. Nice ?? John. You see them complaining and looking for fault when they are the reason we don’t move forward. Looking for excuses. Must you buy ? When things are not going well you encourage them by spending a lot of money on season ticket and you think they won’t do what they want? Wait there expecting change. Fill their bank account and keep rumbling.
Who are you? HA HA
What you don’t understand Jane is if you give up your season ticket you then go to back of a 40,000 waiting list if you wan’t another. Is that simple enough?
Janebrix, I have only recently seen your posts on here, though I have been on here, for my sins, for ages. TOO LONG IN FACT AND I NEED TO GET A LIFE AWAY FROM MY KEYBOARD! I much like the comments you have posted in all your posts so far and would love to hear more of your views in general. Have you considered submitting an article of your own? I think it would be well received by the realists on here- and there are many of us, despite the vocal core who abhor realism.I wish you a happy New Year.
In that case, don’t suppose you go to football, I’ve been a season ticket holder for 36 years and also done 25 years on the terraces before that, I go with five mates who I’ve been going with from the age of 10 but now we all live in different parts of the south east and if it wasn’t for the football we would have lost touch years ago, restaurant before every game and a drink after the game. Who are you to tell me what to spend my money on? I’m a real supporter, Arsenal’s in my blood. You stick to you’re cosy little armchair and if you can’t afford it don’t knock people who can.
Well said Kenny, I gave up my season ticket in the 70s due to the economy and now I can afford it am not anywhere near getting another due to the waiting list. I miss the match day routine, meet, eat, drink, cheer on walk to stadium, moan and bitch on walk back, more drink, put the team and world to rights, go home, sleep.
Watching Fever Pitch should be shown in schools ! and yes, Sammels was crap?
Do you really think Sammels was that bad, Declan? I would easily find a place for him in todays midfield, personally. He was the crowds boo boy as I know, having seen virtually all the games he played both home and away. I know he was far from a world beater but our midfield today is a joke, almost as bad as our “so called defence.”
Kenny, that’s the real cunnundrum facing us.
we have supported our club through the 50’s up to the present and I can’t imagine how much we must have spent in that time.
Of course it’s our decision to do this, but you and I know that our commitment to the club, completely outweighs any kind of sensible approach.
I even cheered Billy Wright, just because he was the Arsenal manager.
Why they have got us by the s and c’s is simple, AFC is part of our lives…at least that’s how I see it.
I will never give my season ticket up, even if we do a Leeds United and I think you are of the same DNA.
We’ve spent thousands Ken and worth every penny. These armchair fans don’t understand the cost of going to football. What about away games John007 is that also a waste of money I’d like a pound for every time I’ve stayed in a hotel after attending a game or every time I’ve flown to a European country to watch my beloved Arsenal. Trouble is Ken according to 007 anyone with any sense wouldn’t pay thes astronomical fees just to watch 22 guys kick a bag of air about. Maybe he has a point.
Ken and Kenny you have invested a lot of money over the years following Arsenal through good times and bad.
I, not unlike others, can watch from afar not having the opportunity to make this financial and personal commitment. However over 57 years of supporting the Arsenal, I have watched them live at Highbury once. That season 1977, Arsenal weren’t as high up the table as they are now.
Unfortunately to achieve now money has to be injected by the owner and there is no one Scrooge Kroenke appears interested or committed. However lack of investment in “maintenance/upgrade” of any asset, be it a road, bridge or football club ultimately leads to a deterioration of, and loss of value to, that asset. If that happens Kroenke has to invest or sell.
Well I think the more money Kroenke retains within the club the higher the value of his shares. Eventually when he sells out he will make a killing. This is why I believe spending on tranfer fees is directly in conflict with Kroenke’s interests. Ultimately we are doomed to endure this torment till the day he decides he wants to cash in on his investment, but that’s just my theory on why he doesn’t want to spend. I hope I am wrong and Emery will get the huge amount necessary to turn things around.
You’re a great supporter Ozziegunner and if you come over to England in the near future I guarantee you that you can have my season ticket for any game you choose. That’s a promise.
Ken in 1966 aged 15 I paraded up and down Avenell Rd holding a pathetic piece of cardboard with “Wright must STAY” written on it in red marker pen. If someone in authority had then locked me away from normal society as a lunatic, which I richly deserved – and please take pity on me and do not say that I STILL do, even though that is palpably the truth – I might be almost sane now. If only! But among football fans I enjoy our shared lunacy and shared masochism. ANYWAY, WHO THE HELL WANTS TO BE NORMAL! It must be intensely boring, I EXPECT!
Jon, surely it was “WRIGHT MUST GO” particularly after the terrible results at the time not forgetting a 4,500 crowd against Leeds United.
That was my WHOLE point Kenny. I was naive and young, loyal and plain wrong to think he should STAY, instead of GO. Rather like many of that generation but in todays world who wanted Wenger to stay, despite it being obvious to virtually everyone,that he should go. Even Kroenke only acted because the empty seats FORCED him to act. At 15, the average kid knows zilch about anything , though they think they know it all; at least SOME of them think they do.
Ah Jon my old advisary, even at the ripe old age that you now hold, you are still making wrong decisions are you not (Ozil and £100)?
As does everyone in this world I would add, in particular us two old f**ts as we are so stuck in our ways and think we know everything!!!!!!!
I would actually like to see Arsene Wenger back as a wonderful Ambassador to the club
As ThirdmanJW said, let’s give UE a couple of seasons before that happens and the statue is erected.
I say don’t lose your season ticket it’d be a waste. Someone else will just buy it. Tickets don’t pay players wages anymore, it’s Television. Hold up boards and signs every match. Shout kroenke out. Start a chant insulting the owner. He will listen when it’s picked up by sky sports and the media. You can only ignore it for so long. Get the debate going in those circles and it won’t be long before something happens. Sing at every game for our players but rightly sing out against the board
Kroenke is a businessman, and would not like the negative PR of constant anti-Kroenke banners and chanting in televised games. That would be the way to rid ourselves of him whilst retaining the season tickets.
I agree. Even if they stop banners inside the Emirates, there is nothing to stop peaceful demonstrations outside the ground.
The media are always looking for news and as you rightly point out Martin, Kroenke won’t like the negative publicity, nor will the sponsors.
PR…those who have season tickets should start a well planned protest reminding Kroenke that if he spends he will stand to gain but if he does not, the fans will see to it that he loses…
Martin But “would not like” is far removed from ” so afraid of the outcome that he will change tack”. Surely what I say is the real truth. Billionaires do not become so by being easily frightened of ANYTHING but a serious and direct threat to their wealth. Demos, on their own with no OTHER action , would be simply a nuisance easily ignored by Kroenke. Regularly empty seats works, as last season proved. Protests and banners , on their OWN are scornfully brushed aside. I have worked under billionaires and know how ruthless they are!
Sponsors care…. That’s how you hurt him. The media will pick up on it and once the debate begins it’s a downward slope. Imagine if Adidas decided to stop sponsoring us because of the negative press? We always think that they are immune to the negativity when they are more vulnerable than us fans. Money talks, AfTV helped get rid of Wenger only because it made main stream television. They proved it’s possible. Now we need a similar action against kroenke
Jon, I have still not got the reply you said you sent me from the earlier Ozil debate, despite you saying it had been sent.
If it’s lost, could I ask that you re-send it please as a courtesy and because I actually would like a reply.
I would also like your thoughts regarding Phil’s post to you on Ozil, including his suggestion about the £100 Willow donation bet.
Ken just to add to my last post to you, these armchair fans don’t know the meaning of commitment. Not only and I believe I’m right do you lay out for 3 season tickets, you and your two daughters, you also, as it happens, journey all the way from Scotland for every game at the Emirates. I honest don’t think there is a better commitment from anyone on these pages. Phil’s certainly up there going to every away game be they domestic or Europe. The pair of you have my utmost respect and I’m sticking you both up for next year’s honour’s list. If the woman who ran the toilets in the Mall for 25 years can get an OBE then I don’t see why you can’t
Without the so called armchair fans arsenal would not even exist. It is terrible to label any type of fan as they all contribute to the club in some way or another. Those that label fans should be ashamed of yourselves. You create division in our ranks and you should follow kroenke out the door.
Am sure brother Ken is trying to tell us he has plenty money Craig and others don’t. Yes. in his place, the richest people are those that buy season ticket. That’s how they measure wealth. Don’t blame them they call it passion. Not bothering on how to make change. They don’t understand that the same passion affects those arm chairs supporters. They decide to sit in their houses and watch the match on TV rather than buy season ticket because they want to the board to know how important and influential fans are. They have the same passion as season ticket holders. Without their money the club go bankrupt. Only smart people understand that. So it’s like “make Arsenal move forward by making the right transfers and you will see me buy the season ticket”. Maybe they thought it was by going to the stadium and shouting “wenger out “ that he was sacked? It was the near empty stadium that scared the board. go ask them since you have season ticket am sure you see them every weekend.
Ryan, in my youth I was able to follow Arsenal F.C. by paying at the turnstiles.
We had a ground that held 38,000 fans and, because we were average to poor team, one could always walk in (sometime having to get there early of course).
We stuck with the club through worse situations than this current ones on the field, believe me!!
Try standing at Wembley and losing to Swindon Town in a cup final, getting soaked to the skin in the process, but that is part of the passion isn’t it?!
Having a season ticket is not a sign of wealth (what a crass statement that is) but showing that one joined a list, waited for years until one came along and then held on to it for the prized possession it truly is.
I know how lucky I am to be able to afford one and plan my budget accordingly to ensure I can justify to myself and my family that, after their comforts are taken care off, I can indulge in my passion…Arsenal Football Club.
Why do you seem to begrudge me that?
I don’t need anyone to tell me that I should do this or that in order to bring down kronkie in some mythical battle of right versus wrong.
It’s strange that all those who want us season ticket holders to give up our prized possesions, don’t seem to have one themselves.
“Armchair supporters” is a wrong phrase and I believe when Kenny digests this, he may change the slogan, because we have all been in that position at one time or another.
As you correctly say, those without s/tickets vastly outweigh those fortunate enough to have one and have the same passion and desire for our club to succeed.
But when one is being castigated for working hard, prioritising his/her spending and doing what he/she wants with their money, passions run high.
I’m sorry that another division seems to have appeared within our fanbase, but please don’t see the enemy as being those that have what the others want and visa versa of course.
Duely noted sir Ken. No offense to what I said earlier. Didn’t know it was this stressful to wait and get a season ticket. Just as you said, no need for division in our fan base. We are one so we support the team together even in its worst time. It’s the passion I have for the club that drives me mad. But I still insist on #KRONKE OUT # EMPTY STADIUM. excluding those with their season ticket.
Ryan, good to have sorted it out and I really do hope you get the season ticket you crave for soon!!
I also note that Kenny has clarified his “armchair” response as I knew he would.
Passion is such a powerful tool, especially when discussing our great club.
Ken AND Kenny-I have to jump in here to add my Tuppence Halfpenny worth to yours and others previous comments.
KEN-your modesty most likely stopped you from mentioning that when you do come down to the games at the Emirates you travel from your home in SCOTLAND.I would imagine a round trip of say 900 miles and the mileage to the car adds the cost of a few additional season tickets to your outlay each season.As Kenny suggests,his pals who attend with him are from all over the South East.Rail fares are not cheap (although the Senior Railcard discount helps).The cost of travelling to matches adds considerably to each and everyone’s budget.
Also Ken-The attendance at Highbury was only 38000 when it became all seated.Prior to the Clock End and North Bank becoming seated the capacity was over 50,000 and before seats were installed in the lower East and West Stands we used to have a capacity of over 60,000.
Anyway that is not the issue here-any supporter that believes just simply buying your ticket is the cost of the match is wrong.The cost to me travelling 480 miles to and from Liverpool yesterday with food and beverages added to fuel was over £100.The two tickets for my wife and myself were only £52 for the pair and let’s not forget these AWAY ticket prices are CAPPED in the Premier League and are NOT the cost of what we pay at the Emirates Stadium.And next weekend I travel further up from Liverpool for Blackpool in the FA Cup so do it all again.
So as I have said to you before Ken you and your family deserve our utmost respect for the sacrifices you all make,both in time and financially,to attend every Home game that you all do.
Kenny-What more can I add to what more you have already said.I understand the phrase “Armchair Supporters”But I know people who can no longer financially afford to attend matches because of the cost.This is a fact that affects thousands of Supporters who I’m sure look on in amazement and disgust at the empty seats in Sold Out home games.If fans choose not to attend because of other more “important” issues after forking out money for a Season Ticket then that is their right.But for someone to suggest the majority should not attend games to show Kronke what we can do to his investment is ludicrous and the comments misplaced.As you rightly point out we pay for our Season tickets in advance so the Club already has our money.And again you are correct in saying that by us refusing to renew our Season Tickets would only mean we lose them forever.40,000+ on a waiting list will very soon grab those Season Tickets and we are left with nothing.Its just not going to happen.Again Kenny my utmost respect to you and ALL your pals for continuing to do what you ALL do.That is a lot of years to follow this Club.Why would you throw away your ticket now?
So Ken and Kenny-What happens now?The phone-ins while driving home last night were very very critical of Emery.But we must at least give him some time.Emery has very suddenly found himself under enormous pressure and it will be very interesting to see how he handles himself as well as the team.
Do we need to buy?Of course we do.But it’s important to buy the right players for the right price.We do not need to panic too much this season.The very worst we will finish is Sixth Place And although that will not be an improvement on last season it will at least get us through to the summer when more realistic transfer targets can be got at.
And in regards Kronke-Lets remember that when he took over 100% ownership of the Club it was after the summer transfer window had closed.January is the FIRST window since he owned the Club outright and it’s still December at the moment so we can only wait and see what happens.Even then it’s the Summer Window that will be the time most likely targets could be available.As much as I am anti-Kronke,I am giving him as much time as Emery to get the investment into the team.Hes only just got the control he wanted so he must at least be given the opportunity to bring in the players we so desperately need over the next 3-4 windows surely?
Anyway that’s my Sunday Morning Scripture for the masses but particularly for both Ken and Kenny.And a big shout out too for all the “Older Generations”who I can assure you have endured a whole lot more of worst times than what this Club is going through at the moment.
Keep The Faith
Well said Phil, summed up perfectly and regarding the crowds at Highbury, I remember being in a 68,000 crowd in a 4-4 draw night game against Tottenham in 1964. Sorry if offended people with the “Armchair fans” description but took offence to being called “senseless” by John0711 for retaining my season ticket for so many years.
Kenny I’m with you on this.
Last season the stadium voted with its feet to protest against Wenger.While this was effective because Wenger was actually in the ground it will not work with Kronke.He is NEVER at the Stadium.But he has trusted Lieutenants who will be reporting to him and it is them and the Board who must bear the brunt of what Wenger has thrown at him last season.
But as I said earlier-The transfer window is not yet open so we can only wait and see what happens.But the way we were outclassed by Liverpool on Saturday highlights just how much work is needed over the next few seasons to get us back on track.Kronke might own the Club but he doesn’t own the Supporters.If Kronke wishes to take us on there will only be one winner in that battle and it won’t be him.But I keep having this belief that as a businessman he needs to invest to keep his own investment healthy.There is no sense in just allowing it to stagnate and he will know this.
Top 4 is now beyond us so we should be resigned to Europa League again next season.But if this is what it takes to progress then this is what we must suffer.Liverpool have taken 4 years under Klopp to get to where they are now.We should not take as long with the right investment.
Kenny and Phil, as I’ve said before, my memory is getting worse every day, so thanks for reminding me of those crazy days of standing at Highbury and not being able to see much after the first surge forward lost one the place they had arrived two hours before to secure!!
OH HAPPY HAPPY DAYS.
Due to some persistent health issues, I have decided to curtail my attendances for a lot of the remaining season and into next season.
I am telling you this, as I believe in not living a lie, but being honest.
This is so poignant for me , after the discussion over season tickets, empty seats and holding on to a prized possesion.
That’s why the “armchair gooner” was so close to home!!
Thankfully it is not a life threatening diagnosis and, hopefully the medicine will sort things out. After reading the pain that Innit and ozziegunerr (plus many others) had to endure, this is just a small blip in my life and I will continue arguing and discussing with my fellow gooners, so Jon beware!!!!!!!!
I have arranged for a friend and lifelong gooner to keep my seat warm and she has been on the red list for ten years would you believe!!
Phil, hoping you make it up to the cottage, the offer is still open.
Now let’s just move on and keep debating about our wonderful club that needs Ozil and Ramsey to stay and Arsene to return as Ambassador for the club.
You’ll have to get on the back of a 40,000+ waiting list first Ryan.
Just read this KEN. I will now try to find where it is but have forgotten exactly what it was all about actually. Will let you know when located and then post again in whatever the current thread is at the time. Not seen Phils Willow post either but I MUCH LIKE THE SOUND OF THE WILLOW FOUNDATION FOR OUR BET AND HAD PRIVATELY DECIDED THAT IF AND WHEN I WIN I WOULD ASK YOU ANYWAY TO SEND IT TO BOBS CHARITY. I DO NOT WANT OR NEED YOUR MONEY AND I DOUBT YOU WANT OR NEED MINE EITHER. SO THAT PART IS GLADLY AGREED. I must seek out Phils post though. Probably will not be possible til tomorrow though as my time is limited today.
Ken , Please scroll up from this post of yours for my reply. It seems to have appeared in the wrong place
how can you force out an owner with full control? I don’t disagree with your assessment of the problem but being able to remove Kroenke is more of a wish than the January transfer list at the start (which would be awesome). Unfortunately we have to dream because Kroenke is wealthy and Arsenal brings in a pile of cash.
The main problem has been money.
Wenger patched together teams while being outspent by four or five other teams. Eventually that would gut the team, as with RVP leaving, and it did, but fans, well most of the “fans”, did not get it. “Fans” turned sour. Emirates went quiet and then empty.
Wenger got blamed for everything!
There is a story… somewhere about money and football, and trophies. It was about oil rich lands. Well, “fans” should read that stories, or similar ones. (Those some sources of money are also proving to be murderous with kleptocrats running things. Apparently, some of them were involved with Brexit and also the Drumpfs.)
Arsenal is not going anywhere without a 250 to 300 M overhaul. Every player barring Ozil is not good enough to be in the top four. Laca and Auba, maybe. But the rest of them would not make it at the top four. That is why Emery is playing average players to the point of breaking them by running them around and to the ground.
Emery’s plan is simple. Win the game he must, and try to draw or win others. However, this the EPL, you cannot do that in England, as any team can beat another team given the physicality of the league. So, Emery has a problem. Average players running around cannot do it even against the Saints. Our players are tired and so get hurt…
Not a chance .
It’s going to come down to the owner and how much he wants to invest in the squad and going off the last 10 years I wouldn’t hold your breath .
This feels like an endless slip into a position I don’t see us coming back from,that match today and some of the matches where we were winning just had that old arsenal teams from the last 10 years .
We are miles away from the top 4 and without the owners help I would say we are going to be stuck like this for the next 20years .
You and I have not always seen eye to eye in the past but on the KROENKE disaster as owner, I AM IN TOTAL AGREEMENT.
No problem Jon and Ken, It’s always a pleasure to see two lifelong Arsenal fans debating.
How about Felipe Anderson from West Ham.
Should be a good addition to Arsenal.
He Looks bloody good and would also take arnautovic aswell ,love the way marko plays football shame he’s in the twighlight of his playing years .
Anderson Felipe is the kind of player Arsenal needs right now.
I doubt West Ham will let him go for cheap.
BRING DIEGO SIMEONE IN AND GIVE HIM 150 MIL
HE WILL WIN THE LEAGUE
THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THIS
?
Why not give Emery £150 million first and see how he goes? He competed pretty well against Simeone at Atletico Madrid when he was at Sevilla and Valencia.
How many trophies has Diego Simeone won in the last three seasons?
How many would anybody win up against Real Madrid and Barcelona, although he’s pushed them pretty close. Simeone was always my choice, however lets give Unai a chance with a couple of transfer windows
I also believe Arsenal collapse started when Carzola got injured against Ludogerets in UCL 2016, and Xhaka became the mainstay of our midfield play.
That was the beginning of the end.
Xhaka is a big downgrade on the quality of midfielders we have seen grace Arsenal in recent past. From Hleb, Song, Fabregas, Flamini (At his peak), Roscisky, Carzola and then we degraded to Xhaka.
We are never going to dominate any big team with Xhaka as a midfield anchorman. Xhaka lacks the pace and ball control to be a dynamic attacking goal scoring midfielder capable of making defense disorganizing dashing runs from deep midfield to attacking third, or a great deep lying midfielder like Modric, capable of building attack from behind the main attackers.
He is not the one to give the perfect through pass. He’s not great at possession retention when under pressure, therefore, unlike Carzola, team mates can’t bypass highpressing teams by giving the ball to Xhaka. Because in such cases, Xhaka suffers brain freeze when put under intense press from opponent players, as he often gives up possession under such circumstances, which leads to counter against Arsenal.
What this means is that we can never dictate the tempo of Big matches at the attacking third, with a player with limited skill sets like Xhaka serving as our anchorman.
Xhaka must go or become relegated to second team while better player with the right skill set be shopped for and used in Xhaka stead.
Also, I get infuriated with Xhaka taking our corners. He hardly finds our target attackers with his way ward corners. He wasted our corners against Brighton.
We are not heading anywhere with Xhaka as our midfield mainstay.
We need better, because Xhaka is not good enough.
The sacking of David Dein and the selling of shares to Kronkie was the start of our demise as true contendors for the title of champions.
Please don’t kid yourselves that this is only happening to Emery.
Around the time of Dein and, a little later, Kronkie, we were playing at Highbury with crowds of 38,000 fans.
We competed with the likes of moneybags Utd, Pool and Chelsea because we had a very good board with an interest in the club.
The stadium was built and payed for and during that time we had to sell our best players to pay for it. Dein went and Kronkie was invited onto the board after, initially being shunned.
Ever since then, the emphasise has gone from football to making money.
Forget our ex manager for a second and think what any AFC manager in that situation had to do.
Apart from delivering on the field he had to deliver off the field and with budget dwarfed by the likes of City, Chelsea, Pool.
We couldn’t and still can’t begin to compete off the field, so why is it a surprise we can’t compete on the field?
Emery had a budget of £45- £75,000,000 it was reported and he signed five players. Anyone who can’t see that they will not be top players must be blind.
Pool paid over the £75,000,000 for one player and yet UE is expected to compete with that spending power, as was AW of course.
Certain people on here slag off our managers for not buying this player or that player and suggest we go for koulibaly who’s rumoured transfer fee is £90,000,000.
Absoutely ridiculous to think this will happen, unless kronkie changes his views of running his club.
It is cloud cuckoo land, but it’s repeated time and time again by fans who don’t want to see the reality of what has happened at our club.
It’s finally beginning to dawn on some here that Unai Emery has no more chance than our ex manager had to deliver the premier league under these circumstances and the change of manager has done nothing to improve that reality.
Unai will still have to buy from the corner shop while those clubs being backed can go to John Lewis and above.
There will be no change in the so called “dross” players we have, because that is all we can afford, regardless if UE or AW signed them.
Pep, Klopp, Poch or Allardyce could be manager, but kronkie is the owner and what he decides goes.
Now tell me that AW didn’t do a terrific job until the last two years, with his “dross weedy players” and kronkie at the helm.
All I hope is that UE can deliver the same amount of trophies, CL and top 4 spots while working under the exact same constraints.
well said 🙂
I agree with everything you said Ken about the demise of Arsenal with the expulsion of David Dein and the embracement of Kroenke by the then board.
However what I do blame Arsene Wenger for his switch from the strong physically intimidating, yet still technically sound players he either inherited from Graham and Rioch, or transferred in himself to small technically gifted players who were constantly bullied by the Stokes of this world. The failure to bring in a replacement for Gilberto Silva, like for like, as a DM particularly irks.
Also Wenger stuck by his apparent philosophy of playing the “beautiful game” and allowing players to go on the field to express themselves no matter the opposition. Given the fact that he no longer had the quality or mentally tough players he had had previously, I just wish he had been more pragmatic.
Finally having spent my career as a professional Chartered Civil Engineer and Project Manager, I was annoyed at how much credit he allowed himself to be given for delivery of the Emirates. Arsenal were lucky (or by way of exercising good management) blessed with excellent design consultants, project managers and contractors. There is an excellent YouTube video on the building of the Emirstes Stadium.
Lastly it will be interesting to look back on Tottenham Hotspurs FC in a few years’time, to see the implications of the new stadium on their player strength and League performance.
Yes, and he even sold Gilberto for no reason, at least too soon for me. Didnt bring Fabregas back, and lot s of others mistakes… even bigger ones!
Excellent debate Ken and OG
Spot On
Liverpool Spent 67 Millions on Goalkeeper
75 Millions on single defender
142 Millions Spent on just 2 players
No chance we would be on top with this spending
Liverpool has spent 341 Millions in 2 seasons….
Liverpool Recouped almost 180 Millions from selling Coutinho, Ings and Sakho
Yet Liverpool Net Net Spending is 161 Millions.
Arsenal not even dreams can spend even this net net amount of 161 Millions
So no chance we would change…
ozziegunner, you are correct in pointing out the negatives that AW had,is there any human being that hasn’t had faults?
Maks, not disagreeing with you, but Iam looking at the situation UE is in and that of AW. You could argue that the Gilberto/Ramsey situation is similar, but that’s not the thrust of my argument.
ozziegunner, we, as gooners, were captivated by AW’s vision of attacking football for so long and he tried to keep that vision going while placating the ever increasing menace of kronkie and his wishes.
The last two years of AW were awful and why he went from the like os Vieria to Denison is simple, the cost of buying the likes of Patrick.
Does anyone really believe that UE saw Lichsteiner as the perfect right back to challenge for the premiership? Or Socrates being able to hold back the Pool offensive players?
Of course not…but he had no choice, the same situation that AW found himself in under kronkie.
We are lauding Torreria as the missing link, but, if we are utterly and completely honest, would he get into the Invincible team?
He is an excellent buy and I love his attitude etc but no way would he replace Vieria or Petit in my opinion.
I feel sorry for UE, because he not only finds himself in the same position as our ex manager of having to buy second best, but the expectation that he would, along with the three musketeers, bring in the quality player all gooners want, was a complete fallacy.
Just look at Raja’s wishlist below and ask the question…are we being fair and realistic to whover is/was the manager of kronkies Arsenal?
Wow Ken, You used the word “reality” about certain fans and of course you are right. I am not a man who suffers “fools” -or perhaps I should say “naive youngsters” – gladly and some on here seem to have no basic reasoning sense at all. I remember that ” buy Koulibaly” post and despaired at the complete lack of ANY thought whatsoever behind it. This type of fan is what we are having to put up with. I agree on much of what you wrote about the Wenger, under Kroenke, years and Emery’s years ahead too and financially you are spot on. I will avoid our other Wenger disagreements if you don’t mind, as they are irrelevant to the KROENKE PROBLEM NOW. I also read your and KENNY R’S FINE POSTS ABOUT NOT WISHING TO GIVE UP YOUR SEASON TICKETS AND WHO AM I TO SAY YOU SHOULD. I HAVE NOT THAT RIGHT. The long term Kroenke problem will not go however, if we fans do nothing but gripe. Some have suggested demos in or outside the ground to get bad publicity for him and show him how much we crave his removal. I do think the ONLY thing that would work, in the foreseeable future is an empty or near empty ground. But as you say, that is asking the impossible of most season ticket holders, so all we can do is fall back on demos, none of which will cut much ice with Flintheart Kroenke in my view. Any thoughts ? P H-W’S SAD DEMISE REMINDS US ALL THAT CONTINUITY OF SUPPORT THROUGH THE GENERATIONS PAST AND FUTURE IS VITAL AND ONCE PEOPLE STOP GOING WE ARE ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE, LONG TERM.
Nice one Jon. Where I come from Jon, revolution starts with sacrifice. If you want change, he have to be ready to take A lot of risk. So From what I am seeing, since nobody is ready to sacrifice anything for change, we just gonna fold our arms watch. Since below top 4 is what I see the club aspiring for. No world class manager can take this club to it glory days with this present squad. I know soon they will be calling for Emery sack. You can change mangers for all I care but if you don’t spend money on transfers, nothing.
Nice one yourself Ryan and if you don’t mind me making you blush, I WANT TO SAY HOW GOOD AND COMPARATIVELY RARE IT IS ON HERE TO SEE PLAIN TRUTH SPOKEN TO PLAINLY. I am also curiously nosy about where you DO come from after that refreshing comment about “sacrifice” ?
ken 1945…I completely agree with you that after David Dein left,Arsenal start to regress….praising David Dein for what he did using banners is one way of fighting(I think)…I liked your response to ”arm chair supporters”…..we all are here just for a common cause(Arsenal). so,respect each other as a fan is something which will bring about desired results.debating and discussing is okay but attaching the person is irrelevant.
Bringing Wenger as ambassador is something I love to hear but I think before that dont you think he has to tell the truth about Arsenal transfer policy and other important wrong decisions made?…..why I say this? well I thought some of the wrong decisions were not made by Wenger…do I have facts to support this?…nope just personal observations….
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!
Sign jonathan tah for the centre-back in january then koulibaly in summer. For right-back sign djibril sidibe in summer, for leftback sign Kieran Tierney in summer who could become our own andrew robertson or else faouzi ghoulam. For midfield to replace ramsey and also sell xhaka and sign hector herrera as a free agent in midfield and also sign ergej milinkovic-savic as nobody is better than this guy sergej milinkovic-savic in midfield, a powerhouse who could dominate Premier league alongside torreira for years to come and sign a pacy, tricky winger like leon bailey etc and also recall nelson back from loan spell. If emery doesnot want to play ozil as he doesnot suits his system then sell him and replace him with pablo fornals and also replace mikhitaryan with almiron from MSL. This will need an insane money but if we are to compete then we have to sign quality and also sell deadwoods and players that donot suit emery’s system.
My first team 11 if we buy these above players and sell deadwoods and other players who donot suit emery’s system.
GK: Leno
CB: Jonathan-Tah Koulibally
RB: Djibril Sidibe
LB: kieran Tierney
CDM: Torreira
CM: Sergej milinkovic-savic
RW: Leon Bailey
LW: Reiss Nelson
CAM: Pablo Fornals
ST: Aubameyang/LAcazette
Bench:
Gk: Navas(if he is available in summer sign him from Madrid)
CB: Holding Mavropanos Sokratis
RB: bellerin Maitland-Niles
LB: Kolasinac
CDM: Hector Herrera
CM: Guendouzi Almiron
etc…………
Can I have a receipt for that lot please?
Sell deadwoods and players like mustafi xhaka elneny ozil mikhitarayan welbeck as they can give some good money abd sign even better players from tha money that suit emery’s system
Raja, if they are “deadwood” as you claim, who’s going to buy them for the amount of money you obviously intend to spend?
Secondly, do we sell those players first in order to fund the monies needed to buy your brand new team?
Or is Krobkie going to open his wallet, buy your players and then hope to sell the “deadwood” off to some unsuspecting club for enormous transfer fees?
Finally, what length of time do you envisage this happening in..this year, this decade, this millenium or tomorrow????
Yes Ken, Arsenal’s big problem is they don’t have a Coutinho profile player wanted by Barcelona!
Koulibally would be a brilliant signing, if Kroenke provided funds for a one off purchase. He is being unsettled in Italy due to the racist treatment he is receiving from some “fans”.
ozziegunner, that little word “if” is the catalyist of all our woes my friend and wishing for it to happen doesn’t mean it will.
Also, the ridiculous stat
e of a player rated between £20-£40,000,000 being allowed to leave for zilch isn’t going to make kronkie anymore willing to open his purse is it?
By the way, the money is there, look at the revenue over the last 22 years, that’s not the problem for UE, it’s getting it to spend on first, not second, class players.
Ken, I should have put “IF” in capitals as a “BIG IF”!
Also Ken from my previous post, I took the oportunity to get off my chest my peeves with Arsene Wenger; I too admired the quick passing, free flowing football of the Arsenal under the management of Arsene Wenger in the earlh years.
The year he only transfered in Petr Cech and no outfield players really did it for me, after suffering in silence for a few years previously.
THERE IS A LINE IN THE BIBLE KEN, THAT SAYS YOU SHOULD NEVER CAST YOUR PEARLS OF WISDOM BEFORE SWINE. A waste of your brain and your time, debating with SOME folk!
Raja, If only managing a top football club was like you seem to think. Send Father Chritmas a long list of your preferred goodies and wait til he delivers them on Christmas Day, only days after being requested. PLEASE YOUNG MAN, GET A BIT OF LIFE EXPERIENCE AND THEN POST AGAIN. UNLESS YOU DO, THOSE ON HERE IN TOUCH WITH LIFES REALITY, WHICH IS ALMOST ALL OF US, BUT NOT YOU, will just laugh at your simple childish innocence and naivety.
Arsenal fans need to realise this is massive crossroads we are approaching.. let’s be honest we lost 1st 2 games went on a 22 game unbeaten run we were all loving it.. now results are starting to stutter.. imo that 22 game run covered over the cracks.. just like it has done for the last 10 years!! trust me when I say we have been pretty crap all season.. we have no defence.. we have no work ethic in midfield.. we seriously lack creativity and width.. and 2 elite strikers who are starved of service more often then not.. we have players who under perform week in week out yet are still in starting 11 each week.. we all know who there are..
The big question we have is where does this club want to be? We get fed all the b.s. of wanting to win titles, champions league well if that’s the case prove it.. put it this way we fans that pay top dollar to attend games yet it’s not shown in the transfer market.. the club earns the money to shop at Harrods yet we shop at Poundland.. if that’s the case charge Poundland prices for season tickets and stop this stupid charade every bloody season of promising this promising that saying we got the financial clout prove it!!
If u wanna compete with city, Liverpool, Utd, spurs, Chelsea u need to spend money and back ur manager!! 50mil will not get us in champions league.. we need a proper CB like Liverpool did.. who did they sign van dijk 75mil.. now with arsenal we need a leader at the back.. koulibaly (from napoli) he may cost 80-90mil but if that’s wot it costs for a world class CB pay it!! Money talks!! Ppl say January is a tough window blah blah blah u pay the money u can sign anyone!! Don’t say to me we not in champions league we can’t attract the players.. Utd were in europa and still signed pogba, di Maria how did they do that? They paid the effing money.. it’s time now that the club needs to start giving back to the fans.. we need serious investment.. we will not win anything with mustafi, monreal, xhaka, iwobi, Ramsey, Ozil in ur starting 11.. today’s starting 11 I would only have 3 of them sokratis, torreira and aubameyang.. someone tell me different.. I’m a realist and I know the current state of this football club we are a Europa league side without investment and I MEAN serious investment it wont change..
So I have a question for the owner where does he see this club in 3 years time because if it continues the way we are going it won’t get any better.. remember ppl a football club is nothing without fans and I am one fan and season ticket holder who is fed up with all the b.s. season after season
#GOONER4LIFE
Well said mate
Pretty much what half the fans on here have been saying for the last 2 years all in one post ?
A lot longer than 2 years!
I meant since I’ve been reading on and posting in here ,but yes I get what your saying
Since Kroenke came , in the case of many of us. THE REALISTS, IN FACT!
Exactly bro and if stan kronke refuses to give money then fans have to make protest so he gives money to emery to sign his players or else stan sells his stake and a new ambitious owner buys the stakes and brings this great arsenal club back to where it deserves and gives his manager support and money to buy word class players
You’ve either copied what DT said on AFTV, or you are DT, as that was pretty much word for word what he said today.
Nice one king Henry. A true season ticket holder with pain in his heart knowing that the club leaders are feeding from him with no result to show and regard to his joy. We are gradually fitting into and I quote “mid table team” and I fear it will be too late before we realized it and correct it. Please tell me why 40,000 will be queueing for season ticket with this kind of display from the club hierarchy. Am sure that was then. Check it not anymore.Action they say speaks louder than words. I for one will always stand by the truth no matter the critics. It’s clear we know the problem. So don’t blame we fans that use the forums to say the truth in our mind. We are passionate fans that can’t watch our great club stumble down the lane.
kingHenry, you seem to have a short memory, because we did win something with the players you mentioned…remember Ramsey’s goal seconds after chelsea had equalised in the fa cup final, or his winning goal against Hull?
Now I’m not arguing against your well presented case regarding spending the proper money to be able to compete, but let’s get the facts right regarding our history.
As a fellow season ticket holder, I was in ecstasy watching those three cup wins, knowing it was achieved with the kronkie inspired transfer budget.
I said in an earlier post that a friend of mine has been on the red waiting list for ten years and she would snap up a season ticket tomorrow believe me!!!
Therein lies the situation: No matter what kind of football we see, the drug that is Arsenal ensures that kronkie is on to a win win situation.
He either gets YOUR money or HERS!!
As Phil said, Kronkie is hardly ever there, so he won’t be affected by any kind of demonstration, it’s the money that motivates him.
Sponsors? To date we have record deals in every section of the clubs history being negotiated, more money for the owner.
Don’t know the answer kinghenry, but that is the situation as I see it.
Santa says “No”
He also says ” get real”!
Never going to happen. Great buys don’t really happen in January anyway although, we may be able to get a great sale on Ramsey before he’s worth zip to us. That itself talks volumes of Arsenal’s business model! Possibly £20 MILLION worth of player leaving for free is just ludicrous!!
20 mil is about as much as Kronke is ever likely to spend until more players leave. He’s a right ass greedy yank who could care less about results. As long as the club have investors, he’s happy..
How do guys think about this boy Sergej milinkovic-savic??? Looks to me a midfield powerhouse a warrior and physically built for premier league
Arsenal is awful & that was evident on its 2 last matches that they got results through dint of fortune. That luck couldn’t prevail against oiled machines likeilike Liverpool. We don’t have defenders . There are Championship material. Socratis & Mustafi are NOT good enough & Leighsteiner is finished. Our goalkeeper is suspect & same grade as Karius ( ex Liverpool goalie). Emery has to talk with Kroenke that he needs money to revamp team.
1 big lost to a team that spend heaps over 4 season and the fans are calling for multiple signings with over 200m spend….
fans just need to admit, protest and demand the club to be run like City
players like nelson, rowe should go on a loan for 2 seasons and play regular football (least 30 games a season) to improve….
In terms of class we were miles apart from Liverpool who’s players are drilled into Klopp philosophy Yet we are bitter towards what unai is doing after less time then it took Klopp to build his current squad.
Perspective please!
If you think unai should be doing the business then you must be thinking we have an amazing squad who are a few signings off being great!!!!
But this is my reality of what we first need to do.
(It’s not just about signing players guys)
Topic 1. Is it time to sell OZIL?
Considering that, and the topic of January Transfer I think the first agenda must surely be Mesut OZIL.
Highest paid player who does not get selected for big matches and, even though he is fit…does not even make the bench.
– we cannot keep such a player on our books and I believe he will be sold. Why not sell him in January for £30m?
Topic 2. Is it time to sell Mustafi?
Defence is an issue. Wenger was previously building a team around Ozil and I feel Mustafi (German and Islamist) was brought in to be part of the clique. I would go as far as selling him in January. Sure we need him with Holding out and Kos just coming back… but he’s at a ripe age still to sell then hold and loss out on paying the wages.. I support all players we purchase and do not disrespect anyone and the hardest part is saying time is up on talent. But his talent is not of the level we want to show to be acceptable to the future signings or youth players wanting to come up.
I won’t go look for an immediate replace,met as Konstain is back this week to full training but I would look at a future Left Back.
Topic 3. Right Wing a Priority?
We know Ramsay is off and Welbeck too and if as I suggest sell Ozil why don’t Arsenal invest in the type of player unai wants for our future RIght Winger. We will also have R.Nelson back so I feel it’s better to start bedding in young and new players in now for next season.
Topic 4. Our Midfield only has 4 players whilst our competitors have 8.
Liverpool – Henderson, Milner, Fabiano, Kieta, Lallana, Ox, Shaqiri, Wijnaldum
Spurs – Dembele, Wanyama, Erikkson, Winks, Sissoko, Dier, N’Koudou
Man City – De Bruyne, Fernandinho, D.Silva, B.Silva, Gundogan, Foden, Mahrez, Diaz, Delph…
Arsenal – Eleny, Gendouzi, Toerrira, Xhaka.
Shockingly poor to go into the season like this and also letting Carzola go. Maybe this was just a season to accept we squeeze our squad and learn from that.
Even if so, surely another player to make ozil feel at home in eleny (Islamic player) is pass his best for arsenal. But with so little numbers and quality in the middle maybe we keep eleny until the end of the season (we don’t want a total revolution of the squad in Jan) yet buy in another Centre Midfielder. Banega has been heavily linked but I am concerned unai is (if it’s true) struggling so much with this squad he’s needing to get in some old reliable hands (but I would rather buy with a longer term perspective).
This is not an agenda against a player or players within our group. Unai now needs to make his own squad and that means selling the ones who don’t fit.
Liverpool are so dynamic in how their forward drops in to make 4-4-2 in build up to finish with 4-3-3 in attack (il use Liverpool as an example as we just played them but others also are dynamic like Barca and how messi drops…) But at the moment we are static in our positions…. so we need more flexibility from ours forwards and midfielders in how they will operate.
Hmmm Emery is an energetic joke, oh no thts me whole ninty minutes
Arsenal do not need to ask Kronkee to finance things. Selling Ozil, Ramsey, Kolasinac, Konsienly, and Monreal wpuld bring back 80M.
Ramsey is leaving for free. Kos has no value anymore. Monreal and Kolasnic if were lucky can get us 20-25 mill total. Ozil, there is not market for and he will run down his contract. We need investment
If we sell Ramsey in this window we can raise some money and we can start a bidding war to push the money higher… we may not get his real value out of the sale but there is interest. Ozil, well he will get market abroad in Germany and Turkey…maybe not much but we will reduce those wages and reduce what we have to ask from the money guys…Liverpool have one great plan over the years to fund their current success, they sold their best players including Suarez and recently Coutinho…We Kept our best players back until it was too late to sell expensive and buy numerous new talent across the park to take us forward. We can start with Ozil and Ramsey…maybe even Lacazette so that we do not rely on the stingy guys to fund our squad reforms
this is not fifa19…..Ramsay may not want to leave in this Jan window
These things are ever all about negotiations and don’t you think I know that. it is about what’s best for both parties. Ramsey has been a gunner and he may play for other teams like Henry did but remain a gooner. He would probably understand the teams best interest
nikkogunners, one of the many flaws in your argument is the most basic….the money received from selling ANY player belongs to…wait for it…Stanley Kronkie!!
He then decides what money he is willing to give the club to spend on transfers.
He owns the club in it’s entirety, brick by brick, player by player and manager to manager.
If we could only all accept that disagreeable FACT, then the wishful thinking, the attacking of managers and players and the continued perceived idea that we are, currently, a big club might become a little more realistic.
Personally I would bolster our wing forwards and playmaker. With Emery way of football, we’re currently lacking depth & intensity in these positions to creates lots of goals.
It’s gonna take a lot of money to get arsenal back to an elite level and of course we must sell most of that current squad they just are not good enough nowhere near good enough! If this isn’t a wake-up call to how far we’ve fallen then we’re gonna keep fallen! Arsenal are supposed to be a big club but constantly get ripped apart against the big boys and I’m sick of it! 4 Nils, 5 Nils, 6nils, 5-1’s, 6-1’s 8-2’s it’s just a recurring theme and we are a laughing stock! Liverpool and City would rather play us than Leicester or Burnley because unlike us they actually make it difficult for their opponent’s! We just open the door and say go on through! I actually think our defending is worse this year than last and we brought in a defensive midfielder! I don’t even care if we smash Fulham it’ll only be papering over cracks the big big problem is Kroenke as long as hes at Arsenal we will never return to the top
The truth is the current squad has too much shortcomings. The most glowing one, we just can’t defend.
If the money is not coming in for new signings, the Manager should consider walking away. There is no chance of a miracle to see a super back four overnight.
The risk is very real. We might even end up mid table if we don’t buy properly this Jan.
I hope fans come together and get Kroenke out for good if it is proven that he was the one holding the club back.
Make this season his last and make sure he never returns.
MAJOR investment in defense needed. And that’s the problem. Arsenal will have to put in high bids if they want a top class defender. But Arsenal love to search for bargains and craft hidden gems. When the problems are this big, we really dont have time for that and need a quick fix, and top CB ASAP. We already have Mavropanos as our pet project so please no young, unknown CB signings. It has to be big and it needs to be done as soon a humanly possible. Kroenke will stop this from becoming a reality though.
No. Impossible
1. Kroenke won’t spend that much in the summer let alone January
2. January is for emergency signings (injuries not for rebuilding purposes) and not for major signings
3. It will probably take two summers and two January’s to rebuild. We need approx 6-8 starters. Other than Aubameyang, Lacazette, Torreira and maybe Guendouzi, Leno we need a huge overhaul
This January get a couple of solid quality defenders at least
Good thing is there’s hope for our future:
I’m hopeful for these players to be future starters or squad players:
Guendouzi (DM)
Smith-Rowe (winger)
Reiss Nelson (winger)
Niles (midfielder/winger)
Nketiah (striker)
Bielik (CB/DM)
Sheaf (cb /rb)
Tutu (rb)
Wilock (winger)
Virginia (gk)
Dragomir (central midfield)
Fact is in my opinion 4th place is out of the question this season. Chelsea, City, Liverpool and Spurs are better than us.
Face Reality! Don’t be delusional about our chances
You are just setting yourself up for a huge fall
That’s a good start. It will take at least a couple of years to rebuild
BUT I believe EMERY can do it!
Remember that he inherited this team
I agree with mostly what you say mate but tbh I don’t see what all the hype about Eddie Nketiah is to me he’s another Chuba Akpom full of promise but just doesn’t have the quality I honestly think those 2 goals in the league cup has made everyone think this kids a superstar and yes he might be banging in goals in the unders but a lot of youngsters do the same but more often than not end up in the championship or lower. Smith Rowe has shown his quality and so is Nelson over in Germany those two are the future for certain
you forgetting Saka…the 17 year old that looks to have huge potential that it scares
Yesterday. I literally cried tears ?
I don’t know why exactly. Obviously it was a huge loss but I rarely cry.
Maybe I feel that with Spurs, Chelsea, City and Liverpool so good that we won’t come close to winning for a long time. Even United can come back because they are a richer club
I feel very ashamed about it to be honest
Why cry for losing a match when there are wars, massacres, illnesses. My father died of cancer. My mother had a stillbirth. Those are things to cry about.
And I cried over a stupid football match which I knew we would lose beforehand
Maybe I take football too seriously I guess
I used to let my emotions get the better of me when I was younger supporting Arsenal can be very frustrating mate.. I just try get my mind off the game after a bad results.. just remember those players have a lot more money than we will ever dream about, they’ll go home and forget about it.. us fans should take note! And sorry about you’re dad mate, my old man also died of cancer a few years back it’s rough!
Lost my youngest sister to neuro endocrine carcinoma age 56, my other sister survived breast cancer and I survived kidney cancer (nephrectomy 6 years ago).
Stay strong; despite what some like Paisley and Lombardo have said, it’s only a football match and as you stated Innit, there are more important things in the world and life.
I feel your pain Innit, I’m exactly the same… over the years I’ve stropped, cried, raged, broken things…used to let it ruin my weekend… for what? I’ve got to the stage now where I don’t let it bother me as much, yes it’s great when we win, but let’s face it – we’re never that far from a thrashing are we?
As.long as our loved ones (& my dog) are happy & healthy that’s all that matters!
I’m sorry about your Mum & Dad…
Time for Leno to take a break and Cech to return. Lichtsteiner should have his contract terminated. Koscielny released in the summer. If possible Ramsey, Ozil (long shots I know) and El Neny should be sold in January, Xhaka in the summer. We need to recoup some money out of this current squad to make changes like Liverpool did with the Coutinho money. Just how different things would have been if the management had accepted to let Sanchez (60M), Ozil (20-30M) and Ramsey (20-30M) leave. We could have reinvested that money into the defence. Now we have gotten nothing for that lot and Ozil will have drained us over £50M once his current contract is over. They knew very well the owner doesn’t like spending money and they let all those opportunities go to waste. Now I don’t even know how we will get out of this mess seeing that we don’t have the money to make substantial changes.
Liverpool funded their 5-1 beating of Arsenal and their EPL glory by selling their best players – Suarez and Coutinho. Now they can win everything they ask for. We can start by Selling Ozil, Ramsey, Kolasinac, Monreal, Koscielny maybe even Lacazette and bring up the youth and buy cheaper, but even more suited to our style of play today…We don’t have to buy the world betters today but those that have been performing great and are yet to break into stardom. They will perform, come cheaper, mostly younger. We now have the structure for spotting these players.
Sell Lacazette, a more complete footballer than Aubameyang? Arsenal need not worry, because if Emery keeps treating Lacazette the way he has, the transfer request will be in soon and how much will an equivalent replacement striker cost?
Lacazette is not performing badly, but if Emery has doubts with him that he seems to be unable to fully trust him with starts, then it’s better he goes out to the market and gets someone he can trust. Or maybe after losing Danny Welbeck to injury Emery is just being cautious so that in case he loses another striker, he still has one available.
Horror show!!!!!
If you think for any fact we can get these players… you my friend are one of the most deluded blogs on the planet
Dont delude, lets be clear mind first
Youve got to sell first, before you buy
Realize that arsenal business model so different against man.city, utd, chelsea, the cash was limited
To become like liverpool, you must create star, sell with high price like suarez, coutinho to buy star like salah, mane, firmino, van dickye with lower price
Or like Tottenham, nurturing young player to be like alli, kane etc
I prefer like liverpool or tottenham, according to arsenal business model nowadays
Ah excellent @Admin. Just noticed you deleted my comment where I called out @Gogo for insulting me after I predicted our torture and humiliation at Anfield. Rightfully so you deleted my comment as insults have no place here. So why did you keep his comment and most intriguingly why does Jon Fox get away with it ALL THE TIME??? Are there different moral rules for different posters?
Sorry to disappoint my fellow gooners but as much as I consider unai a big improvement we will never win the PL with kroenke.
Liverpool has spent hundreds of millions to get to their current position and investment in the squad is not in kroenkes way.
Maybe the odd cup and a CL spot nothing more.
Liverpool have been selling at high costs. they have been selling their best players and Luiz Suarez and Coutinho are good examples. Arsenal have been keeping players locked back until selling them makes no sense…Liverpool could now reinvest in places they needed. they bought Virgil van Dikj and Allison showering up the defense and now they can challenge. Tottenham too sold Bale and Modric…Chelsea are getting into the game and will be selling Hazard. they also sold Diego Costa…We should sell Ozil, he is in high demand in Turkey, in MLs and a host of other clubs in Europe too including Real and Juventus…
That is true but it doesn’t explain everything. Over the last eight seasons, Liv have spent 950 million – 1 billion. We have spent 600 – 650 million. We were making the CL whereas Liv missed out on it, more than us, save for these last two seasons. 82m in Euro’s is 62m pounds, for Suarez. 105m pounds for Coutinho. 167m in pounds they received for two players. Most of that if not all was reinvested, it doesn’t explain how they are tied with utd and Juve for some of the largest outlays, roughly 5th, 6th, 7th place I understand. While we are way back at 14th place, even though we were regularly making the CL. Krounke is the one who fans should’ve been angry with, most angry. When we had the power, fans letting their voice being heard, we could’ve helped Arsenal take a corner.
Blame emery all you want but I thought that line up was just about right. Why play all your cards as lacazzette was the only game changer on that bench because of injury.
My anger is Liverpool didn’t have to work hard for that score line. Now to the match
*Leno- could have done nothing for all there goals, I also feel his distribution was better.
*leichestner- so much for experience huh no wonder emery was using bellerin at the start of the season when everyone was calling for him. What a piece of garbage he has been.
*sokratis- I can forgive him for this game because he hasn’t let us down since season started. He has been the only proper defender we have. Even though today he was below average but he saved us about twice with last minute tackles.
*mustafi- it is evident he was rusty a bit but considering the option we have. He was no where near his best I won’t use awful but he was close to that.
*kolasinac- it has to be his worst game, attitude was bad,game was bad. He shouldn’t have bothered travelling with the squad.
*Xhaka- batch him all you want but I felt he was one of the few that cared about this game. He wasn’t special in anyway but he wasn’t bad.he was ok because out of the 3 midfielders we had on that game he was the only one trying.
*toreira- because of lack of debt we can’t rest him. It is evident that he is jaded.he was awful in the game,cost us a goal and offered nothing going forward or defending.
* Ramsey- he didn’t justify being selected.what is this guy suppose to be good at? He exposed our midfield far too many, was out of position from the first minute.thanks heaven this is his last season here. What a piece of garbage.
*Iwobi-i know I have batched him many times,don’t get me wrong he is still average but on the game I thought he was one of the few positives. Trent Arnold rarely came forward.
*AMN-another one who has been garbage lately but on the game he justified his selection.one of the few positive.
*Aubameyang- if you ask me between him and lacazzette who is the better all round player I would say the latter. He has no skill aside speed, he can’t dribble,can’t bring others in play.he was bad today but not worst.
*koscielny-except mustafi was injured the sub made no sense because he didn’t improve anything.
*laccazzet-for the time he came on he did more than aubameyang,Ramsey put together.
*guendozi- N/A
My worst player was Ramsey I can’t wait for him to be out of my club alongside ozil.
Jenkinson couldn’t be worst than what leichestner. So why not play him there.
I know we are in trouble the minute holding got injured because he formed a good partnership with sokratis. We could actually do with a bit of luck on the injury front right now. Looking at our bench yesterday I felt like this was a cup game.
Emery needs time to buy his own players. And I feel the only bad signing was litchsteiner but he came on a free I guess that explain his signing. All in all I think if we can get through January run then 4th won’t be far.coyg
What arsenal needs to do now is to sell some players that are not contributing much to the team buy good players especially the defence line
I cannot believe you have XHAKA in that team sheet. Disgusting to be honest. He is not good enough. Why dont more people see it. He can only kick with his left…… he cant turn quick enough with the ball…… he cant protect the ball……. he cant tackle…… he doesn’t mark the spaces or players……..he can’t dribble or run with the ball……lacks pace……..
Why XHAKA why???????? Set pieces and 3 long range goals a season is not good enough for an Arsenal team…… please tell me if he’s better than Santi Carzorla????
Xhaka has been one of the best players for Arsenal in some games too. He fights. He can be aggressive especially when covered well with Torreira…but if we can get someone else better like Denis Suarez…well, he could be a good addition
Sorry Nikko have to agree with Patrick G, Xhaka’s an absolute joke, £34 Million, what a waste of money, never known a player to give the ball away so much. What’s he doing taking corners when he should be on the edge of the box for anything that runs loose or to defend a sudden break if necessary. These are simple things to adopt.
OT.
Despite Paul Merson’s inclination to “wade-in” to the arsenal with useless comments from time to time, there’s one thing i do agree with and its that watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure ought rightly to be recruited for our team. An athletic tall hard to by-pass defender type who willingly contributes to attacking play too.
Or will he be another of the countless talents that we allow to slip from our grasp. COME ON AFC it seems we as fans very often see what club executives simply cannot see. Get it sorted (already).
first of all I,m french and have been an arsenal fan since 96/97 ,because I admired WENGER in France,I was telling a gooner how sad that England celebretated and keep doing it for reaching a semi final,I,ll spare you the details and said about france last game we only won because giroud a gunner scored a penalty,the guy didn’t know giroud plays for chelsea!what does it say about our fans:clueless sorry,they want to buy in January but don,t know there are 25 players in a squad,anyone with a bit common sense knows it is to be avoided except when a very good player is available!they don,t realise we are at the start of a new era give the coach few transfer Windows to buy and sell players,trust him & the staff give them time his cv speaks for himself,can,t believe some fans want Cahill WTF??COYG TRUST the changes made in the last few years have an objective!
As fans we should speak our minds out as long as it is not detrimental to the team, otherwise the 70-80 years keeping quiet would be very boring on earth…
Am I the only one who has realised that almost every long pass over the top against us results in a goal?
I never realized that VVD was so good at reading danger, reading the game and marshaling. I knew he was one of the games most dominant players in the air, I knew he was a fighter and because of his size he is a dominant player. I knew he could play well with the ball. His physical strengths, his height, and his Dutch background. I always thought those were his strengths, but he is actually a very good player in his head too. I don’t think we will manage to bring in someone of that quality, how long did it take Liv to realize how to make that last step or two, and they have room still to go. My mind went straight to the January window after that game, and I bet everyone in here done the exact same thing. Are we going to pay what is needed to really try and make this gap up, or are we going to hear a song and dance about being self sufficient and hearing talk about CL and its importance to a self sufficient club. It’s not just about breaking into the top four, you can’t aim like that unless you’re an Eve or a Spu. We have to try and get a team that can challenge Liv, Che, Manu, and City on the day as well as having a consistency. We need to use this Jan window better than we’ve ever used a Jan window. We need to get it right, then when this season is over, get it even righter during the summer. My expectations, have me feeling like I’m talking out of my ass here, expectations on Kroenke. It is super important that our transfer team have a plan here and don’t intend on anything other than using that said plan.
Arsenal could have bought Virgil Van Dijk for a pittance from Gladgow Celtic. Many on this site, including me, put his name forward. The report is that Arsene Wenger was concerned about his attitude!!!