Why has Pires become so confident of Arsenal title challenge?

It was not very long ago that the former Arsenal and France winger Robert Pires was talking about the need for Arsene Wenger to spend a lot of money on new players if the Gunners were to have any chance of claiming the next Premier League title, as reported by Sky Sports.

Despite still being close to his former manager Arsene Wenger, the former Gunner who now spends a lot of time behind the scenes with Arsenal was clear about the fact that last season was a bitter pill for him, the fans and everyone connected to the club, despite a fine performance against Chelsea at Wembley that made Wenger and Arsenal the record FA cup winning manager and club respectively.

The latest comments from Pires though, reported on the Arsenal website, are much more upbeat and confident about the future prospects of glory for the Gunners and even though we have since secured the transfer of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for a lot of money, I am fairly sure that the Frenchman was thinking of more than just one striker signing when he said the boss had a lot of work to do.

So what has changed his mind do you think? Is Piores aware that Arsenal will still have Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in the team next season? Does he know that Wenger has more big transfer plans in the pipeline?

Bob.

12 Comments

  1. I hope you’re right. If Sanchez is asking for silly money to stay, Lemar or Mbappe (long shot) would be good cover. Fingers crossed Ozil and The Ox sign extensions!

  2. If Alexis is asking up to £300,000 then that’s fine. He’s worth it. If he is asking something crazy then like Andrew we should get someone else. But at the same time if Alexis is asking say £300,000 and Wenger wants to give £280,000 he should pay what Alexis wants. To be fair we don’t know the whole situation.

    If Ozil is asking silly money then he can be replaced. I want Ozil to stay but he needs to perform better and more consistently to get Alexis money.

    I hope Alexis stays, but if not then we need to get someone to replace him. I see Lacazette as an upgrade to Giroud, not a replacement of Alexis.

    I also hope we get Mahrez to push Theo. Without competition a player can get lazy. Also we are a bit light on the right. On left we are fine with Alexis, Iwobi, Welbeck, Lucas (he may leave though).

    But yes I hope Alexis and Ozil stay with us

  3. Pay Sanchez the £400 k a week he wants. Win the leauge next season. Sell him for 50 mil. Job done.

    1. That’s almost 40 million in wages for a 2 year contract.
      Of course, if it’s true. And if it is, Sanchez is pricing himself out of the club, no club in Europe would pay those wages to any player.

  4. I think.most of us are not.giving Alexis or even Wengerthe.Benedictine doubt. I was in the camp that wanted Wenger out but you.must admit he has brought two REALLY good signings early in with the window ( something that.had become uncharacteristic of Wenger), and Ozil and Sanchez did mention when the early contract talks began that they needed Arsenal to strengthen. And while the contract talks may seem like a show down,it seems to have given Arsenal something to think about. I honestly do not believe Sanchez is asking as much as the media claims, though I would expect he would ask fora handsome lot(quite deservedly so). While I am not a big Ozil fan, I.must admit he makes some of our attackers look good. If there wherestatistics for a pass to assist,running into space and smart game, we would see his contribution is quite high. He is however very inconsistent and unreliable in defense(unnoticed he had improved a bit towards the end of the season. He is of course not worth as much as Sanchez.

    Some players that people don’t give credit, like Bellerin and the Ox also made Sanchez and in some cases Oil look good, hence we need to realise how everyone contributed. Back to Pores, there is quite a handsome chatter coming out of Arsenal about both new signings and changes tactically. At this stage, I will support Wenger (hate myself for saying that), because he has started THIS season on the type of note every Arsenal fan wants. I am also impressed by the fitness chatter coming from Arsenal and some of the pending deals I’m hearing. We may not get ALL we need, even from some offloadable players like Theo but pray the preseason (like last year) help some of the squad players perform better. I’m personally wanting to see how an injury free preseason for Welbeck, The Ox and Ramsey can do to their individual games. They are not rated highly (rightly so) but I feel if they can stay fit, we may have ourselves a wonderful first half.

    Hope Pires is indirectly talking about it all transfers, back room overhauls, tactics, contracts etc.. As goobers,we could use a good and consistent season. Even if we fall short of the title, it shouldn’t feel like we scrapped our own pants but a really good run with good, consistent and high scoring performances in the bag…

  5. The sad thing is to realise we really could have done it all a few seasons ago. Louis Suarez, Calvalho, even Lacazette. These are players we wanted but fell short by a margin and then didn’t push further for. If you look at our performances, they could have improved and we would be talking of two titles at least (the one Leicester won) and the one Man City won. We obviously can’t cry foul but Wenger is surely trying to redeem himself. I am just hoping that he isn’t the only one and that players too are also trying to redeem themselves and improve their performance. I also am one of the few people who do believe Sanchez should be kept at whatever cost. If I were Wenger though, would sit with him, show him my transfer plan and say let’s finalise Becks the Sanchez effect on the team is huge. Look at how he lifts the team during matches. You think that type of influence start on the pitch? Check no. That’s off the pitch power. If it drags on longer,it will affect even the pre-season.

    I do hope both the Mahrez and Lemar rumours are true though I would prefer Mahrez and Goetska (sorry about my spelling) or some other decent pin point passing midfield. We could use that.I don’t see a mass exodus English players because of the quota system so most of those considered hardwood are staying. However, if Wenger makes everyone earn a start, you will find people will put up their socks. Ramsey knows even on the back of poor performances and a bad form run will still get selected if fit. Oil is not being challenged(unless Iwobi is considered a challenge), we know if Cech struggles, he still is our number 1. We need a performance based selection system with strong players who have to earn a strong of games. Despite his extremely high performances, they were times last season I wanted to see Sanchez benched, but you looked at the bench and wondered who would take his place without affecting the entire game plan. So more and more competition keeps coming.

    Honestly looking forward to the new season. Just don’t lose Sanchez….

  6. Looking at the salary they are offering to Lacazette, it looks certain that either Alexis is leaving or not signing a new contract.Or else we would not meet the salary cap in the league. I definitely won’t believe Wenger will lose a player like Alexis for free.
    All AKBs rejoicing on this great signing, we are not strengthening our squad we are just maintaining status quo to compete for fourth position and fa cup.

  7. Arsenal fan are buying the season tickets after Lacazette arrival. The board & Wenger are smilling .They are going to sell Sanchez on the last day of the transfer. The fact that Arsenal will only be able to get top four . Title challenge ? Dreamers !!!

  8. I love Pires but his nose is so far up the Wenger’s bum it’s a wonder he can say anything!

    1. LOL , yes .Any player or ex-player who speaks against Wenger will be thrown out of the club.
      Hail Wenger

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors