It has been revealed yesterday on the Arsenal website that the Gunners have given a new professional contract to our 18 year old defender Zach Medley, who made his first team debut against Vorskla, and he could be the next youngster to make his way into the first team in an area where we need as much help as can get. Medley is a real Gooner and is very happy indeed: “It feels really good.” he said. I’m very pleased and honoured to be signing another contract with this club. I’ve been supporting them since I was a kid and I’ve been watching them since I was young, so to be able to sign with such an amazing team is really good.
“Since last year a lot of stuff has happened quite quickly in a short space of time, but I’ve just had to keep my head down and progress. Hopefully I can achieve more.”
He is obviously ahead of his time and has been playing excellently for the U23’s despite only being 18 and he could get more game time as the season progresses, especially with our terrible amount of defensive injuries. And next season we are unlikely to have Lichtsteiner, Monreal, and Jenkinson in the squad, and many of us would like to see Mustafi moved on as well, so we could see Medley join the likes of Mavropanos, Holding and Sokratis in the back line, and I expect we’ll get one more year out of Koscielny too.
Emery doesn’t seem interested in buying more defenders, as Ornstein said the other day about the January transfer window: “There was no talk of defensive recruitment and I think that’s mainly based on numbers, rather than quality. Arsenal aren’t stupid, they know there are defensive issues, but they also have a vast number of players, some of whom will be returning from injury. It was seen that a January signing would leave them with a difficult problem in the summer having to shift a number of players. You could say that should be done and they need to take those tough decisions. They do believe they have some quality so perhaps this is one they are looking to sort out in the summer.”
It certainly is a big problem, but I have a feeling that our management team is much more interested in bringing through our youth players than they are in the transfer market. This could be a very interesting summer for Arsenal fans…
Admin
If Emery thinks he can resolve our defensive issues without at least 2 quality additions he is deluding himself..A centre back and left back should be top priorities for Arsenal in the next transfer window.
In my opinion, a good winger would be more important than those two positions currently, as we don’t have any
CB position is secured with the current CBs and I predict Mustafi would not be sold. However, I agree that they have to recruit a speedy and towering CB if there is enough budget
For LB, I still trust Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles and Monreal
THEN YOU ARE EASILY PLEASED! Most of us are not, thankfully.
no need to comment or add i’ll just second that 🙂
I respect your opinion GOT but 99% of the
active posters on this site in addition to a
large majority of Gunners worldwide imho are
of the consensus that the current collection
of 1st team defensive players simply arent of
the necessary quality for a a top 4 finish or
seriously challenge for the EPL crown.
My 2 cents:
Mustafi—still reckless and mistake prone, his
Arsenal career is on life support atm.
Socratis—quality player but honestly a stopgap
solution considering his age and injury history
Holding—Arsenals best defender prior to injury,
has a chance to be a quality EPL CB more many
years to come.
Mavro—Shown glimpses of quality but far to
small a sample size to be considered the
future at the position. Extended time in the
treatment room is also a concern
Boss—Played some of his best futbol recently
and has been a fantastic and loyal servant to
the club. Sadly at 33 it’s hard to see him
playing at an elite level for to many more
seasons.
Saed—-A good wingback that cant defend when
deployed at LB
Nacho—See Boss
HB—One of the few players that had actually
improved under Emerys watch, although much
like the Bosnian tank his strengths going
forward at times cannot obscure his defensive
frailties.
Lichsteiner—shouldn’t feature in another fixture
for AFC. Jenko is a better player, enough said
AMN—Quality midfielder forced to deputize in a
position that circumvents his talents. Has put
in a few good shifts but ISNT A RIGHT
FREAKING BACK!!!
By my count, even when everyone is healthy
Arsenal desperately need 1 quality addition
MINIMUM at CB, LB, and RB. I mentioned in
a previous thread that adding Chilwell,
Jonathan Tah and Djibril Sidibe would cost
AFC around £80M. That’s the investment
required IMMEDIATELY, not hoping that the
Mavro will suddenly be the man, thst Boss will
play at an elite level for another 3 years or
Nacho will be able to withstand the hands of
time.
Hoping and applying a bandaid treatment to
the existing squad is a predictable recipe for
another year or more of Thursday Night futbol!
What bliss to read this down to earth post FULL of common sense comments. Music to my ears dear Ace!
And mine, we’ve had a mediocre (I’m being polite) defence for over 5 years and the penny still hasn’t dropped.
the best defense we have was Kos and Mertesacker and even they had their shocking run of games. And it’s hardly a back line any top team would be afraid of. Since invincible, it’s really been average at best. And nothing has been done about it. I dont see how anybody can look at the defenders we have and say it’s acceptable to get into UCL and compete.
This long term woeful and wilful neglect of all aspects of our defending, including THE LONG RUNNING DM FARCE, was the prime reason the fans turned so vengefully against WENGER. He had the choice and many chances to put it right but chose not to do so. What followed, with his sacking, was inevitable and long overdue. As for Merts who divides opinion even now, my own tuppence worth is that despite his clear top positional sense, his woeful slowness was always a real weakness, therefore an accident waiting to happen and thus a stupid decision to have such a pitifully slow player as a regular. Esp in the 100mph Prem!
Nice post ACE but I do think the trio of Chilwell, Tah and Djibril Sidibe will cost more than £80m in this market. Leicester wont sell Chilwell for less than 50m.
or i’ll second or third this comment as well 😉
Agree 100%
Not selling Mustafi is worse than selling him and not replacing him. Mustafi is just wrong. I would rather have Mavros, Pleg, Medley than Mustafi.
In any case I cna’e see us not buying a proven central defender in the summer.
again if you guys watched the CL game, Alderweild for 25M is a bargain. Don’t forget the last player we got from Spurs was also a defender.
Alderweirald for £ 25 would be almost the steal of this century but Spurs will never let it happen. Forget it therefore. I don’t torment myself by fantasising over clear non happenings.
INJURY prone as well at 29 risky for us jon, we get unijured players and turn them into paper mache, way too risky for us 🙂
It’s a good sign to keep our best youngsters by giving them new contracts but it doesn’t mean if a decent defender becomes available we won’t sign him.
Touche
You nailed it GB. Are we going to start interpreting every teenager signed as evidence that we aren’t going to sign anybody whow is ready to step in now? The only way I can see us spending a big chunk of whatever transfer kitty we have on a CB is if Mavraponas shows he’s ready (I think Holding is a nailed on starter if healthy). And since Mavraponas isn’t being played, even against the worst team in the league, I think a starting CB is on his way.
I would sell Mustafi in the summer while we still can get something for out of him.
Medley is 18 so he can be a U21 player for years. This means we don’t have to list him in the 25-man squad.
Only if a club is willing to pay for 25+ M for Mustafi. He is still in his prime and I think he is under a long term contract
It is also hard to find a proven and high quality CB with low price
He’s here until 2021 I believe. The good news is that Mustafi is still young for a CB, and if he’s on the market for 20-25mill it is possible to move him, so that may attract a few clubs. We wouldn’t be recouping money, but that’s what happens when players reputations decrease. Getting him off of 90k per week is the real victory if we can shift him.
We HAVE to sell Mustafi and take whatever we can get, though of course get the utmost we can for this rank poor player, whom we should NEVER have touched with a bargepole. And would not have done had we the present regime in charge back then.
Never a truer word said!
i would get slated today for saying this, take the momey for chambers as well he’s having an ok season, and as english player if we can get 20-25 mil for him it would be amazing!! those who disagree fair enough, but to me great ability to read the game but too slow and not physical enough so will always be 2nd choice in any position and will never be anything more that!! squad player with little future development i know Mid you disagree 🙂
i’ll add Auba to that list as well if we get a 50 mil offer, i would bite their hand for it, we need some smart sales similar to liverpool, know which players to sell is key for our club!
It is surely clear that, given the ongoing handicap of Kroenke, we ARE DEFINITELY looking towards the younger generation, as we must. Frankly I have no real idea whether or not young Medley is ready. But I DO know that even my Aunt Gladys , is better than Mustafi! So is my cat. ANYTHING that replaces him is an upgrade!
Yes but, is Mustafi really that bad? I know he drops his occasional clanger every now and again but I’ve been going through his statistics on Premierleague .com player comparison and he compares quite favourably to most of the top defenders. Tackles, blocks, interceptions, clearances, aerial duels won…I know am going out on a limb but the numbers do say he puts in a shift!
His numbers have always been good. Even last season when we were almost as bad at defending as this one. But there’s no stat for being out of position, not marking a runner, etc. We both watch the games and know he doesn’t cut it and it at fault for a lot of our goals. Nobody accuses him of standing around and not defending at all, but he’s not a reliable defender.
he is really bad for us, he is abover average in my eyes but because he is a blamer i rate him as below average, i personally hate that in defenders!!
at 6,0 his quick and on his day he’s pretty decent, he’s had some great games. but he costs us, we can’t have that and we can’t have a blamer in defence not good for defensive cohesion!
Ps: i want my defender 6 3 min and with pace please 🙂
As I have several times written on here, stats only ever give positive happenings. There are no stats to show eg Ozils lack of PROPER closing down numbers , as opposed to merely jogging somewhere vaguely in the vicinity of an opponent in ball possession. Sprints do not show the ferocity of the sprint and all sprints are not equally useful. Merts for instance was constantly among the whole Prem best passing percentage stats, around 92% accuracy. BUT they never showed that virtually all his “accurate” passes were made well inside his own half under no opponent pressure and were mostly 5-10 yard crossfield passes to his fellow CB, usually Koscielny. You see how these can give a false picture but you hardly ever see this acknowledgd by amateur stat users. And also no proper stats(how can there be!) for the constant mistakes and being slow to sniff danger situations made by Xhaka and esp Mustafi. Slavish relience on stats show only one side of the true picture. Some, I do not accuse YOU of this, use OR RATHER MISUSE STATS, to make out a case for what they want to see. As a realist, I do not EVER do this. Nor should you if you really want to get at the REAL picture. Hope this helps you see things in a new light. I mean this ONLY in a spirit of friendliness and in hoping to help. MUSTAFI IS NOT LAZY, JUST MISTAKE RIDDEN AND NOT REMOTELY OF THE STANDARD WE NEED , IF WE ARE TO SERIOUSLY CHALLENGE FOR TOP FOUR AND HOPEFULLY TITLES TOO.
“stats only ever give positive happenings.”
Stats don’t give positive happenings, they give a value and we can interpret that value in many ways.
Just to highlight what I mean, you pointed out Pers passing accuracy and then said it doesn’t tell the whole story… Of course not. It is a value. Not a story.
Another thing we can look at to find out if stats only ever give positive happenings…
“According to the American Jewish Yearbook, the Jewish population of Europe was about 9.5 million in 1933. In 1950, the Jewish population of Europe was about 3.5 million.”
Is that positive?
Or will you agree that stats do not give positive or negatives… they give values. The value may be a positive value or a negative value… Like a bad bank account.. a negative value stat.
My God, talk about pedantic. I THOUGHT I was the most pedantic one on here. Clearly I WAS WRONG. As you wish to talk politics and Jewish population, pray go ahead; I will keep to Arsenal, which is the SUBJECT. And yes, on the narrow pedantic point, who am I as a pedant myself to deny a greater pedant his grammatical victory. The ultimate victory though is mine, because my post clearly showed the accuracy of my point. The one about football. I leave the Jewish population in your superior pedantic hands. I clearly need to further educate myself on such irrelevant matters, so that IN FUTURE I CAN “OUT PEDANT” YOU. Now, and before you tell me, I DO realise “pedant” should not be used as a verb!
jon fox, that is an unfair statement you made about your cat being better than mustafi sir !. your cat has four good feet, and, it appears that old musty does not have any good feet, lol.
Great and humourous post but slightly wrong, since my cat has a limp right now and one bad leg. But as we both agree , still miles better than Mustafi. But puss’s leg will get better. Mustafis won’t! Both of HIS are rotten, even though fit legs.
so sorry to hear about the cats leg, hope it was not obtained during training .have you any idea how long puss will have the limp jon ?. we need her/him back as soon as possible as mustys playing days are long behind him. in fact, i would question if he ever had talent to play in the premier league.please let us know how puss is coming along, would you be willing to name him/her on here. is it a name we should be looking out for . the perfect defender, four legs , and , intellegent to boot, lol, thanks jon.
Puss , or Babs as you ask, did indeed get an offer from Wenger to play for us before he signed Mustafi. He should have accepted , to save us from Mustafi, His bad leg was caused when I KICKED HIM ON LEARNING THAT MUSTAFI, WAS AT LEAST IN PART, HIS FAULT!
jon fox, nice one , poor puss, as long as he did not break down in training. must be the good cat grass you have him on .
Most of our defenders are rather old in footballing terms, Koscielny, Monreal, Lichtsteiner & Sokratis, so age alone will dictate we need new defenders in the future.
I hope we get them by a mix of own talent and class signings, and don’t see this signing as a problem in any way. In fact, just the opposite.
Agree wholeheartedly John. Mustafi is the prime example of the incompetence of the final years of the Wenger /Gazidis axis.He has to go .
20/20 hind sight
Have to buy a CB. Been over well over decade since we’ve had a reliable defense. It’s no coincidence we can’t come close to EPL without one. That said, keep our youth talent here if possible of course, and use this season to play some of them and see if they can cut it. Because they can’t be any worse than the 1st team defenders we are currently using and can’t keep clean sheets to save their lives.
I agree we should be playing the youngsters when we can. Why not bring Saka on for 10-12 minutes when we are leading 3-1? why not bring him on when City were beating us? The game was done, everyone could see that, why not Saka for final 10 min.? I would ask the same of Medley; he certainly can’t be worse than an out of position Lichtsteiner right? Play Medley with Kos and Mustafi as part of a back three for 10-12 minutes if Emery is determined to play with 7 defenders.
Just my thoughts, and again I must confess I have never trained, managed, or coached a single match in my professional life.
Couldn’t agree more Durand, especially
pertaining to the City game. Anyone who
happened to stomach that game could see
clearly that when Augero completed his hat
trick that the fixture was done and dusted.
With Emerys reluctance to chase the game
and add yet another hiding to Arsenals recent
trips to the Etiad why didnt he introduce the
likes of Saka, Eddie, Willock, Medley, Sheaf,
and provide them a taste of the EPL’s best?
What is the point of keeping Ozil and Jenkos
spots in the first team when it’s obvious Emery
doesn’t want either to feature? If Kroenke is
yet again unwilling to seriously back Emery this
summer than it’s way past time that the Spaniard
starts to bleed the most promising academy
talents and prepare Arsenal fans for what the
realistic future holds
Emery is conservative, afraid to use young men, Medley is 6’5″ and not even on the bench. Kroenke said ?no money?, then you have to try young players.
Kenny, Thanks for this. I did not know he is so tall and so what a bonus. We have had no REALLY tall CB ‘s for ages( Mavros is but has hardly played as yet) , apart from the woefully slow and therefore mistake on legs type that Merts was. I think the club are clearly intent on giving youth its chance, esp after this season, as some are not quite ready for full time positions just yet. Others are, certainly Nelson(next season, shame he is not here NOW!) and definitely AM-N. Medley , Holding and Mavros could yet transform our long running CB farce. Caused directly, IMO, BY WENGER AND HIS OBSTINATE STUPIDITY IN REFUSING TO TAKE DEFENCE SERIOUSLY, FOR ALL THAT TIME. I too have thought Emery too MUCH on the experience over youth side. Youth is the future and should be the present too. With Kroenke we have little other choice.
Yes it Is Wenger’s fault that our defence is crap. He should have used his own salary to buy us defenders…How foolish a comment. the team just spend zilch in the last window and you cant figure out why we have problems. How much have City spend on their defence..
If anything it is going to be very obvious how great AW was in the next few windows when this guy is kept on a 10M budget and expected to be in the top four…
Zilch? Not by Wenger anyway! Mustafi £35 mill! Xhaka too, even though not a defender( and nor is Mustafi, even though HE is supposed to be one) a similar amount. A total waste of £70 mill on those alone. The money Emery was allowed was wisely spent by comparison; only Licht on a free but on high wages, being a bad buy. £70 IS HARDLY ZILCH, GIVEN THE PAUCITY OF FUNDS THIS SHAM OWNER ALLOWS US. And yes, WENGER SHOULD HAVE SPENT HIS OWN OBSCENELY AWARDED MONEY ON PUTTING RIGHT THE DEFENCE HE RUINED. Or would YOU rather have him back as manager and us THEREFORE playing in a near empty stadium like last season, when the fans, in fury, FINALLY turned on him! Get real man!
Crispen, look at Spurs, they have Alderweild, and Verthongen and we have Mustafi and Sokratis. They have Sisokko and we have Xhaka, they have Son and we have Iwobi.
Spurs spend less money, give less wages and get better players.
I would also like to add that although I hate Stan, the stupidity of our transfers is not his fault.
Ivan and Arsene have completely and utterly misspent the money they were given time and time again.
When you dont have a lot of money, you cant make big mistakes in the transfer window, we continually overpaid for mediocre players, while the Spurs built a better squad with less.
U hit the nail on the head here JB!
We all agree that Kroenke is one of the
worst owners in All of professional sports,
but the Yank did support Wenger and
Gazidis in there investment of the following
players…
Xhaka…£40.5M (Kante cost less)
Mustafi…£37M ( VVD would of cost less)
L. Perez…£18M ( January panic buy)
El Neny…£11M ( Guendouzi cost less)
Cech…£11M (Never hit his stride FSR)
£117M spent over the last few years on a
collection of players that have imho
either massively underachieved or have
had no impact on the 1st team during there
time in North London.
Yes hindsight is 20/20 but imagine Gazidis
had a successful bone in his CEO body and
that money was spent on Kante, VVD, Doucoure(Watford). And Gnabry and Schez were never sold.
This would be a DAMN good squad..
Auba…Laca
Gnabry…Ozil
Doucoure…Kante
Nacho…VVD.. Boss…HB
Schez
Good point. I think you can add Spurs have been better at developing their players. Their current squad has grown a lot in value, while being with Spurs, while we have had years, where our players actually regressed and we can’t sell and reinvest, because either none of the players can achieve big sums or they have been allowed to run down their contract. All this is not Kroenke’s fault. It is the former management that ut us in this position, so if any blame has to be directed at Kroenke, it should be for allowing the management to create this mess.
Spot on! As you say, the appalling Kroenke cannot be correctly blamed for the constant and colossally damaging mistakes made by Wenger (for signings and non signings) and Gazidis (for wages/ contracts) that so much still infect the squad that Emery had to inherit. The last decade legacy of these two will take a long time to fully overcome, thanks to Kroenke and his refusal to care. Except about bottom line club value to borrow against in the USA, for his other franchises. Arsenal is merely collateral to him, no more than that! When you are having to FINANCIALLY punch way above your weight, as Wenger also had to do for that last decade or so , since the Emirates move, it is VITAL not to waste the relative pittances allowed by Kroenke. Isn’t the real truth that everything collapsed, strategy wise, the day Dein was shafted in 2007! Wengers Jekyll to Hyde transformation began that very day. Gazidis was a bumbling football amateur by comparison with DD and knew zilch about proper football. Even though his ignorance was cloaked by an oily, smooth but fake “charm” that fooled very few of us fans, then and now. Good riddance to them both! DDWAS THE REAL POWER BEHIND WENGERS THRONE, IN DYNAMISM ,IN GETTING NECESSARY THINGS DONE AND DRIVING THE CLUB WITH REAL AMBITION. His leaving was the blackest day in my 60+ years of following Arsenal.
Is it true we’re interested in Grimaldo ? Could be like a Grimandi Gilberto hybrid ? I would take that over Mustafi but apparently we’re interested in Matthias Ginter as well.. maybe he’ll replace the outgoing error prone Mustafi!
If our young CBs are thrown into the deep end and told to swim then I doubt they could be doing worse than what we have done already, the benefit to this could be experienced CB players who are still young.
I have seen Medley play a few times online and he has impressed me, along with Pleg, I think we have two gems in those two. I think they could be groomed to be ball playing defenders quite easily for Emery.
Phil… no Mesut tomorrow (gutted) enjoy Belarus.. hopefully we’ll get a result.. even if the ball ricochets in off Iwobi’s arse – I’ll take that all day long ???
Alex Hleb at 37 could be playing against us tomorrow
That’s a blast from the past!
Hleb will score. We have to get some and always we fall against someone we know. 🙂
Darn it, looks like the scum are through!
Gutted
At least Man Utd will be out in the cold soon.
Very true QD ?
More than happy for the spuds to have a couple more games, to mess up their season in the league, as they’ve got absolutely no chance in the champions league. Hopefully gaining a few more injuries along the way.
Of course we should invest in our defence, I wonder just why we DIDN’T in January?
Perhaps that’s why, SINCE WE GOT OUR ARSENAL BACK, we are playing to AN EVEN MORE EMPTY STADIUM than during seasons 16/17 ( last dross trophy winning season ) and 17/18. I know that as a fact, because I go there on a regular basis.
Yet the club still keep giving out 59,000 attendances, just like they did during last season the LYING SNAKES COVERING CORPORATE EMERYS BACKSIDE AS THEY DID WENGER’S…us realists, and we are the majority I’m pleased to say, KNOW BETTER BECAUSE WE ARE WISER. Those empty seats are a protest against the negative, dull, ridiculous team selections and boring, dross defensive football, just as we were told they were against AW.
WHY are there so many MORE empty seats?
Wonder if that is because of the seven defenders UE employs against a team like Cardiff?
Could it be the incessant passing backwards and forwards and sideways in their own half, letting Cardiff..yes.. CARDIFF!!! dominate possession?
Or the ZERO ATTEMPTS ON GOAL IN 45 MINUTES and only FOUR IN NINTY MINUTES at the Etihad?
Or maybe the HUDDERSFIELD DOMINANT POSSESSION STATS that saw us play those SEVEN DEFENDERS against the bottom club in the league?
NO, IT WAS ALL ARSENE WENGERS FAULTTHEY THOUGHT HE WAS STILL MANAGER, THE FOOTBALLS EVEN WORSE THIS SEASON – SO HAS UNAI EMERY ACTUALLY DONE ANYTHING AT ALL?
Well, with six new signings ( none of whom are UE long term injury players ) supposedly making up over half of the first team, the flowing football will eventually come we are told.
So until then, let’s keep banging on about ARSENE WENGER’S dross players… unless of course we go on another unbeaten run and THEN we can say that UE has improved those dross players. YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE DOESN’T IT?
The players we are really missing, Holding, Bellerin and Ozil ( ALL ARSENE WENGER SIGNINGS OF COURSE ) were described as dross and even criticised for their hair!
Now, we can’t comment on UE’s tactics because it isn’t FAIR as he has all these long term “dross” injured players? WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT!?!?!?!?
Are they ARSENE WENGER DROSS or are they not?
With all the ARSENE WENGER signed youngsters coming through, UE is a really lucky man.
We’re being told he’s already doing great things, well that’s when we’re winning, Musn’t criticise him when we lose though, because then it’s ARSENE WENGERS FAULT.
All he needs to do is blend in ARSENE WENGER’S YOUNG TALENT along with his six new signings and the three ARSENE WENGER PLAYERS MENTIONED ABOVE and the world is his oyster.
That’s even with the scourge of KRONKIE on his back, something that has suddenl, liike a bolt out of the blue, explains UE’s difficult task as our manager.
Well, luv a duck, why didn’t ARSENE think of that one then?
ARSENE WENGER LEFT A WONDERFUL LEGACY OF YOUNG PLAYERS FOR UNAI EMERY TO WORK WITH, let’s see if he can actually use these players he has INHERITED.
I hope he can, because if he’s successful, then ARSENAL F.C. are successful.
Isn’t that what we support, the club?
See how ridiculous it is to keep mentioning the same old names post after post after post as if it’s something new and earth shattering in it’s contents?
For every single negative there’s a positive to be told and vica versa.
Still, if it’s good for the goose it’s good for the gander as they say.
How was Pochettino with a lot less resources was able to build a better team than Wenger? Wenger was there for 20+ years and his last 10 was us going backwards.
If a team doesnt have moey they go and find quality youth players like Spurs did, like Dortmund did, like Monaco did, like Leicester did.
Our youth players are still youth players, none of them have been blooded like Spurs players. Whose fault is that?
If he was so good what the f is Xhaka and Mustafi for 70M or giving Ozil a 53M contract. Or letting all our players wind down their contracts. We could have gotten Alderweild and Kante for the same/or less money.
Arsene was THE man in the club nothing happened without his approval.
Arsene and Ivan have completely and utterly run this club to the ground.
We overspent on the wrong players, We could have gotten 150-200M for Ozil, Sanchez and Rambo, so far all we got is Mhki.
And you’re right Unai football so far is far from exciting, but not giving him at least another season before starting to criticize him is idiotic.
JimBean, why can’t I criticise when I see double standards being applied?
Just look at my observations regarding empty seats and what it supposedly signified.
I’m quoting what was said on here before AW left the club and how those seats signified a “fans revolt”.
It was then escalated recently to “a near empty stadium” which, if you question this statement, you know is a complete and utter fabrication of the truth…in other words a lie.
WHY?
All I have done is turn this on it’s head and, in a roundabout way for my own purposes I admit, stated that the even more empty seats must indicate the same thinking must apply to UE as AW.
If not, JimBean, what is your explanation for the empty seats?
The same with the attendance numbers.
I just pointed out the derision that was met when crowds of 59,000 were announced and how the fans could see through this and covering “corporate Wenger’s backside”.
So, when the club are doing exactly the same thing this season, doesn’t the same criteria hold? Are they now covering “corporate Emery’s backside”?
If not, Jim, what are they doing it for?
I enjoy your posts, so I REALLY would like YOUR views on those two points, if not on what follows.
If you look through my post carefully, that is what I am trying to expose, the double standards being applied, not only on the two examples above, but the playing style, the way that one game the players have improved under UE, proving he is a much better coach and then, when we start to lose, they become AW dross again.
Let me tell you something, I have never wished for our team to lose any game, no matter who was manager, who was playing and/or who was being paid what. I have also never wished ill of any person involved with our club.
I love our club with a passion as you obviously do…but unless we accept that, for whatever reason, double standards cannot help unite our fanbase, the incriminations will just keep dividing us.
I want UE to succeed and become the most successful manager ever at our club, but I cannot stand idly by and read the dishonest, double standard BS that some keep repeating in nearly every single post they make.
Of course AW stayed too long, of course he made some awful signings, of course he should have blooded our talented youngsters and of course Ozils salary was a ridiculous mistake ( just like all top professional players salaries are ) and of course his first ten years were better than his last ten years.
Last season was a complete and utter disaster, completely of his own making and he should have gone after the Chelsea cup win in my opinion.
Where in my post have I said differently?
All I ask is that you read and think about what I am saying.
If you don’t agree then we can debate sensibly and without calling each other names. I REALLY DO look forward to your reply, especially on the bums on seats and attendance questions.
My only response is to give Unai more time. He has inherited a lopsided squad in financial trouble. He bought well with the small transfer budget he had.
In Torreira we have our first DM in years. We have a great talent in Guendouzi, a no nonsense defender in Sokratis and a good GK in Leno.
These are all players who are positively contributing to the team, when was the last transfer window in Wenger era where he bought without panic or overspending?
Wenger couldn’t do anything for a decade with a team that he built.
All I’m saying is give Unai time to build his team. I agree that our football is. It pretty, it wasn’t pretty last year either, and it willl take some time to get us back in our winning ways.
Don’t forget Wenger was only fighting Ferguson. Only Man United was on our level. Now City, Pool, Chelsea, Spurs are all better, they are either richer or have been managed better. Unai has to deal with a much different reality. I think Unai is a realist, he sees where we are and the squad he has and understands that we will proabaly not reach our goals this year with pretty football.
I get very upset with him as well, mostly for not playing our youth players a little more, but I think he is doing his best to help us sneak in to 4th.
Thanks for the reply JimBean.
I agree with your first paragraph in nearly every aspect.
As good as Torreria is,Vieria, Gilberto or Petit he certainly isn’t.
Perhaps on a par with Flamini and a little better than Song, but isn’t that what opinions are about?
The second paragraph about transfers and overspending?
Well, to a point on panic buying, I tend to agree. But, again JimBean, isn’t that what just happened with Suarez? Wasn’t that deal concluded at the eleventh hour? It seems that our club just cannot negotiate transfers in or out without some kind of drama, whoever the manager is. Huss Fahhy was brought in to take this from AW’s control approx. two years ago. Is the guy even here still?
If he is, the Ramsey debacle, the Suarez debacle are surely down to him aren’t they? If not , then who?
Not sure what you mean by overspending. One minute we’re told he wouldn’t spend any money to keep kronkie happy whilst lying to the fans about who he was going to sign and now he’s being accussed of overspending. Wasn’t he given a budget just like UE?
Now the next statement, AW couldn’t do anything for a decade and UE has city, spuds, pool and chelsea to contend with.
I find this an astonishing statement, when we see just how important it is to keep in the CL.
Abromavitch appeared at chelsea in 2003.
Sheik Mansour appeared at city in August 2008.
Pool were bought out in 2007.
Spuds have won nothing since Poch took over.
Since 2003, AW still achieved top four finishes, won fa cups, appeared in CL final and two semi finals.
This was done under the ownership of kronkie and his transfer budget.
Only Utd are reported to be richer than us according to Forbes, just think about the money that flowed in under AW, even during the ten years you say he was, supposedly, achieving nothing.
All the above are actual facts JimBean, facts that have been lost because of the successes that AW had in the first years that he couldn’t repeat in the last two years.
I was looking for your explanations regarding “near empty stadiums” and false attendance figures, without you thinking I am being facitious, does that mean you agree with me?
Finally, I thought I made it very clear how much I want UE to succeed. Why wouldn’t I? He is The Arsenal manager and to think he could repair AW last two seasons in ten months is ridiculous. Of course he deserves and needs time and any real supporter has to give him that.
What i am trying to show in the two posts you and I are debating is the double standards, lies and contortion of facts to denegrate the achievements AND failures of Arsene Wenger serve no purpose whatsoever and have to be challenged.
JImBean, I look forward to your response, again with great interest.
we almost won the title in 2008 with a budget new team…..
Jim , I much agree with EVERY word you write. Great perspective and realism. A potent combination. Sadly, Ken and I have fallen out and now do not directly reply to each other though I note that we BOTH continue to do so indirectly through our own posts and through the posts of others. That being the case, I wanted to say how MUCH I agree with what you wrote. Simply because much of what you said, I also said many times to Ken , as well as to everyone who read those posts. I also think that this seasons empty seats are a knock on effect from those same season ticket holders being so long fed up with sub standard in entertainment football. I make no bones about football under Emery being as boring as anything Wengers last few years served up even though Emerys teams have passion, WHICH Wengers did not. But as a realist I always remember that our first aim is to win points and cannot help reflecting that with a defence now no better than any of Wengers, mainly because Wenger players still play, Emery has us a single point from 4th place almost going into March, and quite probably IN 4th going into March, given the relative fixtures twixt now and then. I put much of this improvement down to sheer attitude, increased managerial and team ambition and at long last the buying of a proper DM, even if he be no Viera! I have never denied that that the Kroenke years also held back Wenger from spending like our current rivals have but neither did they force him to waste what he did have on way sub standard defenders and the awful likes of Xhaka too. Nor did Kroenkes force Wenger to KEEP the deadwood around so long, esp those who were constantly injured but still had contract renewals. He could have bought Kante at the time but chose not to try for him.
i enjoyed that too Jim fully agree with you, but we won’t be making 4th at least not this year, Euro Cup? yep maybe only trophy to go for 🙂
Nothing as spiteful as a man mentally wonded by opinions he intensely dislikes.
“wounded”
To be honest I think there are a few mentally wounded on here and I personally don’t think Ken is one of them. His post shows someone who is passionate about what has been and what is current, those who choose to ignore are frankly blinkered.
I think his posts show someone who longs for the distant past as in 1996- 2007 and never accepted the immense damage done since then by Wenger. Nostalgia for the good things from yesteryear is sensible. When you long for the bad times as well that is plain daft, as is refusing to admit they were bad at all. In the wider sense of ” mentally wounded” are we not ALL so wounded, who obsess about such a relatively unimportant thing as football, as I often reflect. If so, than I AM AS GUILTY AS ANYONE.
How is Ken living in the past when he talks about Ozil in the present?
Or is it that Ken just recognises the past and wants to learn from it?
I’ve disagreed with Ken before and I bet I will in the future, I have never thought that he is mentally wounded though, Ken is a passionate gooner who I believe has made his own opinion based on his own thinkings.
For me, Ken has shown some mental strength when explaining himself when weaker people would have collapsed to peer pressure and jumped on the Ozil bash bandwagon because it is popular to do.
I think a lot of us could learn a thing or 2 from Ken… what a gent! ?
Completely agree, others could learn a lot from his passion.
I was referring to his Wenger love in, still happening today, and in attacking anything anyone ever says bad about Wenger. I do not see KEN LEARNING FROM THE PAST. HE CRITICISES THE PRESENT BUT DEFENDS THE PAST. You know ME better than to include me in your comment about jumping on “the Ozil bash bandwagon because it is popular to do so”. I am my own man and never jump on bandwagons, UNLESS I agree with what is said. On OZIL I say he is lazy and he is. And as you say, if it is popular to think so, then many think the same thing. By definition! Ever asked yourself why? And ever considered that plain truth is more potent than “jumping on bandwagons”?
Woah Jon!! Easy there, come on, we all have different opinion but you don’t have to type stuffs like that. It only portrays you in a bad manner.
Let’s learn to respect each other’s opinions though and live with it.
I respect you and Ken, I think you both should find a way past all these dramas n arguments filled with insults, you both ain’t college teens anymore.
Ken I know you won’t let this get to you, let it go bro!!
And hey it’s my birthday today, Valentine’s not really my thing, I’m all about my birthday every 14th of Feb.
Happy Birthday Eddie!! So you mean to say you didn’t get your fiance anything??!! ?
Lol….Sue, I would if there were any?.. Been single for over a year now, not really ready to go back out there
Oops! Sorry Eddie!! Well hopefully you’ll have something else to celebrate later (other than your Birthday!) A win… and a clean sheet…. ok then maybe just a win ??
Michael Owen, just said Arsenal haven’t won any silverware for quite a while and need to win something. How about 2014, 2015 and 2017. His beloved Liverpool last silverware I think was 7 years ago, in the Mickey Mouse cup, if I remember correctly. How can you take the clown seriously.
We’ve won more lately than his beloved team… he failed to mention that!! He drives me mad!
He really does seem to hate us, thought these people were supposed to be impartial when they are considered to be ‘experts’
He’ll be loving it now!!
Haha Sue!! the rate at which we’ve been conceding goals..If we keep a clean sheet today, it’ll break my heart.
I’m used to us leaking goals???
Thanks Midkemma?
Happy birthday Eddie. Happy valentine Sue.
Same to you Pat! How are you doing? ?
Happy Birthday Eddie.
Hope you have a good year ^.^
Thanks to those of you who understand my points of view, even if you don’t agree with them.
Thanks also to JimBean for showing that you can debate, without trying to ridicule another’s point of view.
Eddie, happy birthday to you.
One of the things I abhor is bullying, be it physical, mental or by the printed word.
I am too old in the tooth to let it affect me and the best way to deal with this is simply ignore it.
Looking at the game now and praying for Arsenal win.
Isn’t that what any REAL gooner would want?
How has many of us failed to notice that the problem is not even our creativity it’s mainly our transition transitioning from defence to attack has been so pethetic…..
I never thought I will say one that we missed xhaka si much……He has always been instrumental in our transition and his long passes is the best we have in the team
How has many of us failed to notice that the problem is not even our creativity it’s mainly our transition transitioning from defence to attack has been so pethetic…..
I never thought I will say one that we missed xhaka si much……He has always been instrumental in our transition and his long passes is the best we have in the team
As much as I want Ozil to leave in the summer, I’m dumbfounded as to why he doesn’t play against Bate
We can’t take Bate lightly. We can’t afford to take any team lightly
He isn’t injured and he could possibly perform brilliantly against Bate as it isn’t a Top team. I think he would have more problems against Southampton.
I support Our manager but this was a wrong decision. Actually how he has used Ozil or lack of use this season has been wrong
I would argue likewise, WERE IT NOT CLEAR THAT THE CLUB STRATEGY IS TO FORCE OZIL TO ACCEPT MOVING ON THIS SUMMER. SURELY THAT IS ABUNDANTLY APPARENT TO ANYONE WHO CAN THINK DISPASSIONATELY ABOUT OUR CLUB , BY NOW? I support this strategy wholeheartedly and think it vital to our future health that Ozil is moved on asap. Lazy players are poison!
Jon-I’m enjoying a beer (or 10) pre match in this wonderful Belarus town (that comment shows how much I’ve had already) and as I scroll through the comments I again see how you continue to describe Mesut Ozil as “poison”.
I’m quite amazed at your choice of words and just why you seem to hate the player as much as you do.
To be honest I continue to be disappointed in your choice of words.Stats PROVE the player puts in a good shift (even though you do not allow stats into your way of thinking as per Midkemma posts between you two).Performances PROVE the need for quality attacking players in our line up.
Cardiff and Huddersfield PROVE that an Arsenal side without Mesut Ozil is very one dimensional and easy to play against.Its not unfair to say we could (or even SHOULD) have lost both those games.Yer you still believe Arsenal are better off without him in the side which I find quite amazing.
Turn the clock back to last seasons game here and who scored the winning goal.And WHAT A GOAL it was.No other player in our squad would have had the composure and skill to score the way he did.IN PRACTICALLY THE LAST MINUTE.Where he WASNT HIDING.Where he MAFE THE RUN.
For someone who I continually admire for his honest and frank views I am disappointed you seem to have no sound reason for wanting Ozil out other than your own personal feelings against the player.
I still believe Emery will need to find a way to get Ozil into his team for EVERY GAME if he is to make a concerted push for CL qualification.And Ozil needs not to go anywhere for another two seasons.Emery needs to realise this.As the saying goes-“Never get into a pissing contest with a Polecat”.
And to finish-I hope your own cat gets better soon.I would still prefer the Puss in the side than Iwobi even with its bad leg
Phil, I have never met you and am not sure I have ever commented on your post. But I say truly appreciate your assessment of our club and most importantly Jon Fox. Jon Fox seems to have bad names for everyone, I have asked him to provide statistics to show that Ozil is lazy, ineffective and now a poison. Jon Fox it is shameful to call someone you don’t know personally a poison, someone who has added value to Arsenal Football Club, who has sold more shirts than anyone in the current team, who had given us moments of share joy and excitement, who is a professional in is chosen career a poison. Sorry what does this Ozil of a guy owe you.?. Arsenal against Bate and we lack creativity. I hope you are happy with the result. Have a good evening Phil.
Pat will you please understand that it is quite impossible to provide stats to prove laziness. That is so obvious that I wonder you keep asking for the impossible. Either you trust what your eyes show you , as many do who think as I do on him, OR YOU DON’T. Your choice, not mine. I DO NOT “HATE” OZIL AND AS YOU SAY I DO NOT KNOW HIM PERSONALLY. MY IMPRESION OF HIM AS A HUMAN IS THAT HE IS A GOOD GUY AND HAS BEEN UNFAIRLY RACIALLY CRITICISED BY SOME RIGHT WING SCUM IN GERMANY. But I speak of him ONLY as a footballer and as such he is lazy. Which is the ONLY reason I want him gone. No hate. Nothing personal. Believe what you will , as nothing I say will convince you. You want to paint me as the villain for seeing and calling out this laziness. Then go ahead. Cos he will be gone by next season. IN MY OPINION OF COURSE, AS IS EVERYTHING THAT ANYONE SAYS , UNLESS IT IS FACTUALLY PROVABLE . And for laziness there is no way, save watching and seeing what is there in front of you.
Actually Phil, I describe lazy players, RATHER THAN SPECIFICALLY OZIL, as poison and have said precisely those words many times now . I say them again. Ozil happens to be lazy, as was Walcott and as is Mkhi too. What I “hate” (to quote your word) is anything that harms our team and laziness does harm our team both directly on the field and in the dressing room by others seeing the lazy player being treated the same as them , despite not putting in the same effort. Under Emery, he refuses to play lazy players, apart from when injury or fatigue to others forces his hand. He gives all their chance and then prefers those who work hard for the team,. As he should. Wenger had his favourites, as was widely said and recognised. Emery has only the TEAM as HIS favourite. Let me be clear on Ozil; i think he would have helped us win the odd game that we did not BUT I ALSO THINK HE HARMS THE TEAM MORE THAN HE HELPS, OVERALL. THE CLUB ARE CLEARLY TRYING TO SHIFT HIM AND FORCE HIM OUT. THAT IS OBVIOUS AND SO THEY DO NOT PICK HIM. I AGREE WITH THAT STRATEGY. Simple as that! If you want ethics in top level football, you won’t find them. I have known this since the PREM began.
Jon Fox, I think you have missed the whole point of having a player in a football club, the players being given a contract etc. Who is trying to shift Ozil out of the club?, who gave Ozil his first contract, who gave him his mega contract, who does he sell shirts for. Even if Emery doesn’t want him it doesn’t cancel his CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!
To answer your questions in correct order: The whole club, except most fans; Gazidis; Gazidis; he doesn’t sell shirts, the club does directly and indirectly. Your last sentence is correct but there are more ways than one to skin a cat.
Yes, this is very obvious. Emery obviously has support from the board as well to be doing this. Arsenal want him gone. This is clear. Only expect to see him off the bench until the end of the season.
And that’s the reason why you need a good wage structure at a competitive football club. Look at all the rest of them, no one earns way more than his teammates…
S, but if you look back, that is EXACTLY what was in place and was one of the reasons given for AW not being able to sign w/c players.
That was another thing I disagreed completely with himmabout, you can’t run a football team as if it was a communist state.
Not sure how you fit Sanchez’s salary compared to his team mates in your scenario regarding the rest of them?
Same goes for Kane at spuds…the only team who can afford to have a high level of consistent salary is, of course, City.
But, Gazidis as the CEO, reporting directly to kronkie, was the man who offered and sanctioned Ozil’s deal and proof of that can be seen with Ramsey’s aborted contract.
As soon as Gazidis left, the deal was taken off the table. If he hadn’t left, Ramsey would have been given the same sort of overpriced deal that Ozil was offered and accepted (who wouldn’t) by Gazidis.
Who would have got the blame then, the manager?
I’m all for a star player to be paid star wages, I think it could be made easier for us fans to accept if there was a bit more transparency in the reasoning for the wage, we kind of accept the free agent/ higher wage concept… Even if we (we as in Arsenal fans, not us two specifically) may disagree on the end result.
I don’t think we will get the level of transparency that would make a massive difference with Silent Stan being… Well, Silent.
Teams out.
Cech for Leno and Xhaka for Torreira.
Hleb plays for Bate.
Is Ozil sick again?
Sick of Emery I suspect ?
?
I keep on saying this, Guendouzi keeps the ball too long. He must pass the ball a bit quicker.
Just throw Aubameyang on please. Cant believe we’re losing right now…
How anyone think this a progressive is beyond me. We are told to never criticize what is wrong with Emery tactic so I’m not saying anything but I will say it wasn’t this bad in Wenger’s last two years with familiar failings yet we all want him out. Eddie I hope the boys give you perfect birthday gift. Happy birthday bro.
Yes, it was this bad with AW. No need to change history.
No we won this fixture last season 4-2 and gave youngsters a runout as well. I do know what I’m saying. I don’t want to say more so that I won’t be misinterpreted. Emery is my choice and I was happy when he got the job but what is he doing with 7defensive minded players against and interior opposition.
You seem to forget the 8-0’s and the 6-2s etc… we were the laughing stock of the league. Chelsea lost to City and pundits said Sarri turned them to Arsenal. Wenger’s Arsenal.
Now I don’t like Emery’s tactics. 3 at the back is too conservative. All our asssists come from Sead, there is something wrong with that picture.
Although I too want Ozil gone and Ramsey is leaving, I still think they have a role to play until the end of the season.
Guendouzi is not ready. Everyone thinks very highly of him but he is not ready. He is probably our worst midfielder under pressure.
If we are going to play a midfield 3 it should be Toreeira, Ramsey and Xhaka. Or even Ozil slightly more forward
Play Jenko as aRB and play AMN as a RW ahead of him.
Play Monreal as LB and play Sead ahead of him. This way you have 2 backs and 2 wingers who can also truly support the lanes.
All I’m teyimg to say is that there are other ways to set this team up and I hope that Unai finds the right one quickly because 3 at the back is not working.
Someone said we should be careful what we wish for
Bloody hell….. this is pretty embarrassing ??
Dare I say it we could do with an Ozil right now.
I totally agree with you ?
Terrible defending but a goal for Bate has been coming for the last 20 minutes. Pity our forwards can’t take the chances created. Kola great going forward but crap defender. Surely there has got to be subs early in second half.
Losing vs Bate loooool
Just a minor setback. We will win this 3-1.
Suarez selection would have been appropriate.
Bate Borisov in pre-season and makin Arsenal look very ordinary. I fear another humbling is coming our way. Awful
Making us look very ordinary? We are very ordinary !!!!!!!!
Worse than ordinary. Not a single decent performance out there. Worst game we’ve played this season.
Why Emery Pick defensive line up time and time when it is evident that defensive line up is not at all defending… It really cuts our attack as well…
Short corners my boll….
Emmerdale is more appetising
Premier league darts is on!
It seems we should learn defending from Bate
I’m fed up with these lacklustre performances ?
I agree sue but what disappoints me most is the treatment of ozil
And Ramsey
Lacks class as do the players
Not even relegation can save us from Stan the absentee…
As much as I wasn’t a fan in his later years Wenger wouldn’t lose this game
Totally inept performance by the team and a deserved straight red and some fool is blaming Kroenke smh.
Don’t worry guys Jon Fox will explain
??????
Emery is a sinking boat
We are pure rubbish. No leaders no plan no balls and just pure shit
2 shots on target yet again & Ozil is left at home…… ??? what a pile of crap… so disappointed
Bate haven’t kicked a ball in 2 months, is it any wonder Arsenal is a laughing stock.
Well done Emery, throughly enjoyed the game ????
Who was entertained?
At least we ran around a lot and done.. Umm… Well… We ran a lot!
For the people who say that perceived effort means more, I hope they are happy, I’m gutted with how we performed and the final result.
Absolutely right, this was pathetic. But at least we ran around a lot.
As much as I ripped the pi*s out of Chelsea, i think I’d have rather lost 6-0 to Man City than 1-0 to this lot! I mean who the bloody hell are they?! This is beyond embarrassing…. thank you Unai for leaving Ozil & Ramsey at home. I hope you were happy with the 2 shots on target FFS ???
At least we ran around a lot…….pathetic.
Sick of this, you have to create to win. Running around a lot is for the teams that can’t play.
I agree , midkemma how I wish for entertainment again ☹️
When was the last time we were entertained???
Sue, I have no idea, it’s been a while, but as long as we run around a lot I guess that helps?
Yes with no end product & they break into a sweat then that’s fine!
7 defensive players yet they scored a goal. Wenger will win this match with 10 attackers. I’m not trying to rubbish Emery but his arrogance is going to be the end of him.
Well, what do we make of that performance then?
i’m actually lost for words, so this post is being formed as thoughts occur to me.
This was the team, that last season, with dross players, no backbone, mentally frail not giving 100%, and a manager who couldn’t coach, had no plan B and was inept, went and played the same opposition and won 4-2.
During that game Ozil was outstanding and I remember the wonderful goal he scored in the final minute.
Of course, that was seen as not all that considering the weak opposition we were playing, so I smiled and let the rants against the player continue.
Now, let’s fast forward a season and here we are again, same weak opposition and no Ozil because he doesn’t run around like a blue assed fly and earns the money the club were prepared to offer him with no strings attached.
We have six new players since last season, all bought to improve the team and willing to run non-stop and give 100%, as it seems all the other are now.
We also have a strong bench, including three of those new players, and most importantly, a manager who is everything the previous manager wasn’t.
It’s gonna be a walk in the park, we’ve got our Arsenal back.
What unfolded before my eyes?
Well, first of all, we were humiliated, no other way to describe it.
No productivity or vision, despite Guand’s efforts.
If it wasn’t for Cech, we would have lost by even more.
We had JUST THREE shots on target in the whole game.
Bate have not played a competitive game in two months and yet matched us for fitness, organisation and commitment.
They hit the post as well as scoring, while our fifteen first hald minutes of domination saw three chances that were all wasted.
Plan B(?) was initiated in the 68th minute, does this ring a bell?
Am I disappointed? Yes and gutted as well.
Am I surprised? No.
Why? Team selection, (Torreria, Aba, Ozil left out)…(Suarez, Xhaka, Iwobi included).
Who’s to blame?
My guess is those AW signings that won last year, but let’s wait and see.
??
I think you’ve just about summed it up, but they did run around a lot…..