By Tony Attwood
It is a while since we did anything much on transfers, what with the FA Cup final and end of civilisation as we know it, but no matter if one turns away for a day, a week, or a month, the news is the same. We need three players if we are going to challenge.
Arsène Wenger says he doesn’t really think we need anyone, and each time in response all the papers say we need the same three people: defensive midfield, goal keeper, forward.
Interestingly, there is no reference in any of these commentaries about how the players will fit into our 25, and who should be displaced. And no talking about how players are able to play different positions – Theo on the wing, Theo centre forward, Alexis ditto, and so on and on…
Take defensive midfield. We have Coquelin and Arteta who play that position, and then Jack who can play that position. Coquelin came close to winning man of the match in the Cup Final, getting 8s and 9s in various newspapers for his display. But still we need to replace him with…
Geoffrey Kondogbia of Monaco.
Now according to the increasingly unbelievable Daily Telegraph, “The French side…” well, hang on there, they are not actually a French side. They play in Ligue 1, but they are within the Principality, not France. It’s a bit like calling Swansea “The English side” on the grounds that they play in the Premier League. Mind you, this being the Telegraph, they probably write the Swansea address as Swansea, Wales, England.
And my thought is that if they can’t get a detail like which country someone is in, are they really likely to have an ear to the ground in terms of transfers?
Anyway, the, as I say, increasingly unbelievable Telegraph claim that Monaco “have slapped down a £25m price tag”. Slapped eh? Did it hurt?
The Daily Mirror says Inter have made an enquiry and Arsenal retain an interest. Oh and Mr W has “followed Kondogbia since his time as a teenager at Lens and during his spell in Spain.” It makes it sound like stalking.
But what about
Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton
He’s been on the list forever. But no, apparently Manchester United want to pay him more than we do.
Anyway, not to worry about that because
Nabil Bentaleb of Tottenham
is going to get a better contract but Arsenal are putting in a bid anyway. However the ever desperate Telegraph says “Bentaleb wants to stay at Spurs, continuing to grow alongside fellow Academy graduates like Harry Kane and Ryan Mason.” And anyway PSG and Juventus are interested too, so no chance for us.
Still, if we are losing out on some players don’t panic! There is always
Gonzalo Higuain
The Metro says talks are underway over a £42m transfer. Untold was caught once by this so we’re not going down this route again, at least not until he is spotted at Heathrow and …
Oh
Anyway, there is also
Petr Cech who is going to tell Chelsea he wants to join Arsenal this summer. He was going to join a club in Turkey but then he realised that the club in Turkey was actually in Turkey and he wants to stay in London which isn’t in Turkey.
The Metro, (ok yawn away) says PC will cost £10m
Actually what this all comes down to is a build up by the press in which it is said we are “Three players short of challenging Chelsea”. Or did I mention that already.
In one sense this is true, but only in the sense that we didn’t have complete cover for the billions of injuries we got at the start of the season. So what we need are better and more back ups, not old timers.
Arsenal’s growing maturity means Mr W does not need to embark on a major spending spree to challenge Chelsea for the title next season. We have a team that played wonderfully through most of this year, and just tailed off a little in the build up to the FA Cup Final and when it was clear we were ok for third, but with no chance of first.
In one very real sense we gained a player at the end of the season who we hadn’t had most of the time: Theo Walcott. No one that we want to keep has made noises about running away in the fashion of RVP, Sagna, Clichy, Nasri and the like. And although we have rarely seen him, we have another centre back in Gabriel, and a further possible in Chambers who is going to play centre back when we get him back from the under 21s.
Jack Wilshere made an interesting comment recently about just how long the core of the team has been together – reflecting the step by step approach of Wenger which of course gives the squad a much stronger point to start from each year.
The ideal situation indeed is to buy players this year, who then get introduced slowly through the year. I know both Ozil and Alexis made an immediate impact, and of course you can’t buy a £35m player and not play him, but the introduction of Gabriel stage by stage is much better overall.
The reality is that money doesn’t equal performance, for if it did Coquelin would be in the fourth division and Ballotelli would be quite good.
But still, day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day we get, “The three most obvious positions where Arsenal require an upgrade are goalkeeper, centre-forward and defensive midfielder. In goal Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina have had too many jittery and unreliable moments. Up top, on days when Olivier Giroud has strained to make an impression, the need for an alternative who can help him or be a more predatory option looks obvious. In the midfield heartland Wenger’s admiration for Morgan Schneiderlin, who can do the work of a Francis Coquelin and more, is well known.”
That was Amy Lawrence who also suggested our top target is Petr Cech but we might end up with Asmir Begovic of Stoke.
Looking back to last year we actually got two of the best deals of the summer:
- Alexis Sanchez £35m
- David Ospina £3m (the keeper with the best win ratio in the PL)
But what about attempts to steal our players? Surely there must be some of those around…
The Welsh manager, a Mr C Coleman, said Aaron Ramsey is good enough to play for Barcelona, and the Independent said that Barcelona are putting in a bid for him, even though they are banned from buying anyone. (Actually they didn’t mention the ban – maybe they forgot).
Personally I love our current team, and would be best pleased to see another three or four players arrive who are back ups to the current team in case of injury, plus another two players from the youth system come through as Bellerin did this year. No mucking about with loans, straight into the squad.
The books
Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
So pleasing to read something that reflects my thinking. To be honest, I am more concerned about players leaving than those that join. I can take and even understand losing Rosicky, Diaby, Arteta and possibly even Walcott but when Wilshere, Ramsey and Koscielny are mentioned, I am really agitated.
Another good read Tony and timely too.
I find it disturbing that we fans are so quick to judge and make comment on what we know so little about. This is not just about the aaa group. It is prevalent everywhere and the ex-players, so called pundits and press are only making matters worse.
The transfer window is here and comments have reached fever peak. Liverpool fans are like sack BR, get Kloop, sign Benteke, Igns, Clyne, Milner, monster CB and get Walcott and Gibbs for Sterling. We will be pushing for trophies next season.
Man City fans will say replace Milner with Wilshere, sell Dzeko and Jerkovic replacing with Lacazette. Sell Toure and buy Pogba. We will win the PL next season.
Arsenal are saying, buy Vidal or Schneiderlin or whoever. Replace Szczesny with Cech. Buy Lacazette, Benzema, Cavani and/or Martinez. Buy Hummils, Reus and any other WC name we can lay hands on. We will win the league.
So it is also at Man Utd, Spurs, etc.
My point is the average fan knows nothing about coaching/managing a team. I do not claim that I do but I have the sense to know that a team is not about throwing together a bunch of names and expecting it to work no matter how talented they are. This is why everybody is not a coach and most ex-footballers fail at this job.
I know that every team has a style of play. Bringing in a player who will not fit into that style will not only frustrate the team but fans and players as well eg Balotteli and Carroll @ Liverpool
A club pays a coach over £5m per year to do this job yet we sit in the comfort of our homes to tell them which players to buy, which systems to play etc and call them names and demand their sack because they did not win every single match.
Fans worldwide are calling Madrid owners stupid for sacking Ancelotti and replacing him with Rafa Benitez but we are no better cause they are behaving better than how most of the fans would run a club if given the chance.
Instead of the Media concentrating on whom we should/are buying, why don’t they concentrate on the continuous (salon in season out) of our squad players being butchered by opposition so leaving us to bare bones??? With a full healthy squad, I doubt we need too many additions to challenge for anything!
The important thing is to buy either (i) a player who is a clear upgrade on what we have (and there aren’t many of those) or (ii) someone young with great potential.
I do NOT think that any of Schneiderlin, Kondogbia, Bentaleb (havin’ a laugh!) or Higuain are an upgrade. Cech possibly, but I still think Szcz has outstanding potential (although morning headlines are not great for him) and Ospina is more than capable.
I’m just counting the days till July 15th. The day Arsenal play their first match. No worry about who we should buy…. I don’t care this squad is good enough for me to challenge for the title.
The only player I would buy listens to the name ‘Les Sinjuries’. He played for Chelsea last season….
I’m sure that Arsène knows exactly who he wants to buy to augment our current squad. I’m equally sure that if we can’t buy him this summer we will wait until he is available. If he gets the opportunity to buy a real World Class player who will fit our style of play in a position which (whilst not a priority ) will be of benefit to the team again he will seize the opportunity.
The press in its widest sense really hasn’t got a clue but have column inches to fill so will continue to link us with every Tom, Dick and Harry from every continent who they believe can kick a ball.
The important thing is for us to tie down the players we intend to rely on to long term contracts and ensure that they are happy, be they first teamers or longer term prospects. Once that is done recruitment to fill in gaps can and will proceed – just don’t expect to recognise the names of all of the new arrivals!
Can I put a stat in that makes the point about needing to strengthen
Against the bottom 11 teams
Played 22
Won. 18
Drew. 4
Against teams in the top 9
Played 16
Won. 4
Drew. 5
Lost. 7
As much as I feel there is a very good squad at arsenal, against the better teams there is a problem.
I personally think it’s down to not having a clinical finisher.
Trouble is, everyone is looking for one of these
Nanny, apart from balotelli being a flop for leverpool which other player was more worst, didn’t luwis suares, Alexis, lewandoski had a good season
Maybe we should look at getting Chuba Akpom? He’s scored 2 goals for England this week, and nutmegged a defender with a backheel in the 2-1 loss to Mexico.
Oh, right. We already have him. He must be trash, sell him.
I do not think we need to replace Coquellin. I think pairing him and Kondogbia in midfield would present a formidable force. Coquellin can continue to sit back and snuff out everything and Kondogbia can both cut out opposition attacks but also use his frame and power to push forward. Something akin to Vieira and Petit combination. Add a good striker and Carzola, Sanchez and Ozil will provide ample supply and goals. How to deal with Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey is down to tough managerial calls! Great teams have great players coming from the bench and providing that extra push in the final third of the game.
I just saw this article written by Gooner Chris (@AFC_ChrisGooner) and posted on Gunners Town website. I wanted to reference it but as I just acquired this gadget recently, I am still getting a feel of it and don’t know how to.
However if Tony consents, I’d like to post the entire article here.
It is under the title “The Truth is that Gazidis, Wenger and Arsenal are creating a legacy to sustain us now and in the future – SO BE PROUD TODAY!”
In a world where short term needs and requirements are largely put before long term planning, football is no different.
In fact it is worse, it feels like not a day goes by where a manager is not sacked somewhere in Europe, regardless at what stage of the season we are at. Teams spend recklessly on impulsive signings, sometimes regardless of their age, quality and value in the quest for immediate success. Clubs near the top are reluctant to focus on youth development, as you have seen with Chelsea and Manchester City having no real success, since their take-overs, in developing any youth players to contribute to the first team.
Part of the reason I love Arsenal and Arsene so much is the emphasis on doing what is right for the club. Through constant adversity and criticism they have stuck to their convictions without wavering from relentless external & sometimes internal pressure to change (from players trying direct the club to Usmanov trying to tell them what they should be doing.) They had a long term plan and they were going to execute that plan – no matter what. As Ivan Gazidis put it recently,“We’ve made enormous progress over the last five years. We managed to keep a focus on where we want to go, how we were going to turn through the corner and making sure we could come out of that corner strong and well positioned. That hasn’t happened by accident it has required a lot of hard work and passion by people at the club along the way.”
Some have criticised Arsenal for what they perceive to be a lack of ambition. I would argue that the move to the Emirates was the most audacious show of ambition seen anywhere in Europe for a long time. To do so, whilst maintaining champions league football year after year, in the most competitive league in Europe is quite frankly astounding.
The only stadium builds that are completed or anywhere near completion in Europe over the last 10 years that can even come close to the Emirates stadium were Lyon and Bayern Munich. Lyon have a 60,000 all-seater due to be ready for the European Championship next year and is estimated to cost £280m once complete. Of that they are getting £125m of public money and £50m from the Urban Community of Lyon. Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, was completed at the cost of £235m. It came at a cost though. Before winning the last 3 Bundesliga titles, they had only won 2 out of the previous 6, including failing to qualify for the Champions League in 2006/07. That fact alone, means Arsenal along with Real Madrid are the only team to compete in the Champions League, every year for the last 18 years.
Bayern had that period of struggling, in what is largely, a less competitive league and with a stadium cost far less than ours. (£235m compared with the Emirates costing £390m.) The only reason they were able to come back as quickly as they have is due to the other teams having far less resources than them, even after the stadium build. Compare that with us, having a net spend from 2000-2012 of just £57.4m, 9 times less than Manchester City (£523m) and 10 times that of Chelsea (£570m), as well as ours being about 4 times less than United and Liverpool over the same period. Looking at this you can see why it has been a longer battle for us to come back to compete compared with Bayern Munich.
Now I am not saying we are as big as Bayern but that is clearly the clubs aim, with Gazidis recently stating“We are off the shoulder of the best teams in world football, we aren’t at that level (Real, Barca, Bayern) but that’s where we are aiming to get to. To have the infrastructure and the foundations to deliver it to our fans, that’s not something that happens over-night but we are on that journey. That’s what everyone is striving for; we want Arsenal to be in that elite group of clubs. Its long term journey that we are on, that consumes us every day, we want this football club to be at the top of the world’s game. ”
Now whilst the stadium was vitally important, its cost left us lagging behind in other areas, where we previously excelled in. We were unable to invest in other aspects of the clubs facilities, academy and infrastructure until now.
Our training ground, prior to 2000 was leased and it was one of things Wenger insisted on changing, as Bob Wilson recalls“I remember him saying ‘I do not understand. This is Arsenal? It cannot be Arsenal.First in his sights was a new training ground, purpose-built and paid for in an ingenious way. He bought Anelka from Paris St Germain for £300,000 and sold him to Real Madrid for £23million. From that, £12m created the country’s best football training facility. And with the spare £11m he went out and bought another young French player called Thierry Henry. Some business, some brain.”
“Some Buisness Brain” that’s Arsene Wenger.
Whilst at the time it was the best in the country that was 15 years ago. It is only now that the short term debt of the stadium has been paid off that we are able to start investing in these key areas again.“We’re investing many million pounds into developing London Colney, our main training centre – our athletic development, our analytics, our scouting. We need to make sure that we’re absolutely ahead of the curve in all of those areas.”Ivan Gazidis stated recently, saying that it is only due to be completed for the 2017/18 season.
Including in this will be an increase area for analytics and athletic development. Both areas the club are keen to develop. Whilst the appointment of Shad Forsythe was widely acknowledged, the appointment of Andy Rolls from West Ham as the new head of Sport Science in January 2014 was quite the opposite.
Whilst there is still away to go, signs in the 2nd half of the season have shown promise, with less injuries and players coming back quicker and in better shape than previously. It is an area, which continued improvement and investment off the field could very well complete the puzzle for on the field achievements to follow.
Something else that largely went under the radar was Arsenal acquiring StatDNA, a data analytics company in December 2012 for £2.165m. Not a large amount is known about exactly what they do but Gazids did state “The Company is an expert in the field of sports data performance analysis, which is a rapidly developing area and one that I, and others, believe will be critical to Arsenal’s competitive position. The insights produced by the company are widely used across our football operations – in scouting and talent identification, in game preparation, in post-match analysis and in gaining tactical insights.”
Our first StatDNA Signing?
Interestingly, it was used in the recruitment of Gabriel, although Arsene didn’t want to go into too much detail“I cannot tell you all but he has good stats. We look at interceptions, defensive errors, winning tackles – what we call tackles is committing to win the ball, set piece receptions, these kind of things”
With football becoming increasingly competitive, innovation and good choices and efficiency off the field are key to gaining any kind of advantage possible. Whether it is improving the fitness of the players by improving training facilities or coaches, better analysing performances, better decisions on recruitment among other things, can save you huge amounts of money.
Another area the club are investing huge sums of money is the academy. Whilst the on field results across all age levels have been quite poor this season, the club are early into a long term project with Gazidis saying the aim is to have“best youth academy in the world.”The club are half way through phase 2 of 3 phases to make the Hale End facilities “the best young player development centre when it’s finished in February 2016”
Gazidis went on to say“Our youth development, is going to be the foundation of this football club moving forward, we’re investing millions into leadership & coaching at that level as we go through our transition and also our facilities.”
Investing in Youth with Jonker.
One of said coaching changes with Liam Brady leaving the role was Andries Jonker being appointed Academy Manager and bringing a couple of his Dutch colleagues to work with him. Arsenal describe Jonker as “ a vastly-experienced and highly-respected coach, Andries previously spent seven years working for the Dutch FA and two seasons working as a senior coach in the youth set-up of the Dutch Federation. Andries was involved with all the national youth teams from under-15 to under-23 level.”
He wasn’t a popular choice with everyone. Terry Burton was one of the casualties of his appointment stating“I still think they’ve made a big mistake. I think if it wasn’t me, there are good people out there that they could have put in. It’s a massive job. There’s a lot of work to be done there. Arsenal, with respect, have fallen behind.”
Whilst the academy has contributed more players either produced at the club or signed early on at ages 15 or 16 than any other of the top 4 teams in the country (Gibbs, Wilshere, Szczesny, Bellerin, Gnabry, Ramsey, Coquelin and Walcott all have been at Arsenal since aged 16 or below), it is an area that the club and Jonker are keen to improve with Jonker saying“Arsenal want more talented players to come through, because that has been lacking. They want me to develop the players from the academy much better than it was done before. At this moment, considering the investments the club have made, players have hardly been developed properly. This is why they wanted me, a man who can guide the coaches and who can influence the other coaches. Ivan Gazidis wants Arsenal to be the best academy in the world. He realises that will cost money and will take time, but that is his ambition. The scouting must be restructured all over again. It needs to be brought to a level so that we can bring in the absolute best talents from abroad and from England.”
Again it is a project that may take a long time, perhaps even a decade or so. If any club can see through a plan for that long it’s us. The focus on stability, improvement and innovation off the field is a big part of the reason I love our club so much. The way in which we are run, financially and in all the aspects I’ve mentioned above are reasons to be proud to support Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger may not be here to see the fruits of the labour completely come to fruition, with the Emirates not scheduled to be completely paid off until 2031 and the academy development may not show its true potential for just as long. Johan Cruyff set up Barca’s famed La Masia academy whilst he was coach from 1988 to 1996 and the Barcelona only saw the complete potential of that unfold a decade later.
Arsene Wenger sums it up better than anyone, with this quote, demonstrating his selfless, long term plan saying he wants to leave the club“in a strong healthy position, that means, good players, good youth behind, strong financial position to go further and develop more and I will do that believe me. The guy who comes in after me is a very strong position to develop something exceptional.”
Whilst almost every single member of personnel has changed since he has been at the club from chairman, CEO’s, to owners, to board members, Arsene Wenger has been the one constant and it is his drive, determination and vision that has carried us this far and yet even with him knowing he is unlikely to be the biggest benefactor of the changes, he continues to plan for the clubs long term success, something that is very rare indeed.
As the famous quote goes;“the future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”In which case, we need not worry about the future of our great club.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride my fellow Gooners – @AFC_ChrisGooner
They may be players who i’m sure AW will talk to. He needs to hear their view of their future, he probably tells them his view of their future. Then he sees players he wants or who seem to be able to fit Arsenal and checks them out too.
From all these three points, decisions need to be made and only then we will see the movements of players out, in, loan and return from loan. We do seem to have many players now unlike previous years. Too much? I do not know.
I get a feeling there will be some movement, but i don’t know if we will buy another striker. Everyone says we need one but who? No one suggests anyone. Everyone suggested for Arsenal is a midfield player. Our midfield is almost so versatile that the players in it can play any position in that midfield.
I for one don’t mind the speculation, even though it is easy to see through them. And then AW surprises us all with someone unknown or who we never imagined.
Some of the press do try to suggest players for teams they see as the most viable action, you can tell when they say things like:
Sergio Aguero to Real Madrid and Benzema to Arsenal?(Our players are just as good i think). But who is City going for?
One i do not like is Cech to Arsenal for some reason. Don’t know why?
Kondogbia, do not think we need him unless Arsenal is doing a clear out, but who to leave?
I hope Theo is not waiting for an “offer” and only wants to increase his wage at Arsenal, so this may go til last day.
I suppose all those who’s contract is nearly up will be looking to re-negotiate anyway.
Sorry to be off topic, but i just read this – http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/9875110/man-utd-clocked-39-injuries-in-201415-season
“Louis van Gaal’s side had a total of 39 players sidelined throughout the campaign, but the club still managed a top four finish in the Premier League.”
“The data, compiled by physioroom.com, has Everton in third place behind Arsenal with 1,423 days, and Manchester United in fourth, parallel to their Premier League finish, with 1,348.”
What the fuck are these double standards all about?! Euuuurrrgh.
Tony
Thanks for the perspective on transfers. Of course the media just have to fill space and can speculate anything without accountability. What irks me is the criticism and questioning of AW. When the Club were building a new stadium he admitted they didn’t have the resources to spend big and would have to sell. That was true. When revenue increased and the stadium project finished he said he’d spend, but only on top quality and wouldn’t overspend. This led to Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez! Both are top, top quality, world class talents, wrangled from Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. There was no hint, no rumour, not one wild guess in the media anywhere suggesting either of those transfers. They don’t know shit and shit is what they know (to paraphrase Jack). I’ll just continue to Trust In Arsene. Remember, the combined price for these two effin’ superstars is less than many in the aaa and media suggest Arsenal spend for a ‘world class striker’. Di Maria anyone? Falcao? Any of the Spud purchases of the last 5 years? Liverpool’s genius spending? If AW goes into the market no one will know who he’s after until the deal is done and it will probably be a player no one has suggested Arsenal getting. But it will be a TOP QUALITY PLAYER WHO FITS THE SYSTEM. That’s what AW buys. I’ll continue to enjoy the fine season just finished and great FA Cup win and not get caught up in the guessing game. ARSENE KNOWS BEST.
@trapper. I think it’s more of mood and team psychology. On their day, they can beat anyone. They responded to Bayern, Dortmund and Monaco but what had happened on the first legs? Taken the opponents for granted?
About purchases, I think Poldi and Campbell are leaving and with that, we might get one good striker. The problem is the stats of these strikers are not much different from each other’s except for the Messis and Ronaldos of this world. The so-called “World Class” Falcao; we all know what happened at ManUre. Therefore, fingers crossed. DM, the Hoscored Stats for Coquelin is similar to Schneiderlin’s, therefore he may not be an upgrade. Furthermore, a score of 7.5 in France may not be so in the EPL because the terrain is tougher. I feel AW will rather get a backup for Coq.
The one I least understand is the P Cech issue. He shared the golden glove with W. Szczesny last year AND AFTERWARDS, BOTH GOT OVERTAKEN. So why should one replace the other? Finally, the Wenger we all know, will meet PC’s wage demands? Fingers crossed.
We got last season’s business completed early (other than Danny who was probably an emergency buy), and all were names that had been connected with us for quite some time with no surprises and January’s Gabriel was also forecast, so if a certain Chelsea GK and Southampton DM were to rock up at Arsenal we can at least say “we told you so”.
I like the team. We have a good spine of players who are now playing for a long time together. But I think we need 2 or 3 new players not just back ups but finished goods players who are finished products. Not that current team is not good enough but all the other teams will bring reinforcements and I think we will do so. If a good player a real quality player is available I think we should buy whatever the position he is playing if he’s gonna bring quality and competetivness to the squad.
left side of attack needs another player…sanchez has done it himself this year but we need back-up…
podolski will be sold, campbell too i suspect…
We should buy Joseph Merrick’s skeleton. Guaranteed to produce apocalyptic news accounts from self-proclaimed experts/sport journalists who know nothing about 19th, 20th or 21st century history nor football for that matter.
For months now Arsene and his fellow planners have decided on who to sign during the Summer Transfer Window.
We don’t know who this player is or these players are and will have to await the official announcement and photo(s) in Arsenal gear.
As usual the news will not please everyone, in which case the next Window is only New Year’s Day away…..;)
Tony. I do not get the point of this article. Are u saying that we can win the League with the current squad? If so – you are deluded.
arsene doesn’t have his signings planned at all.
he flies by the seat of his pants.
if a player he likes becomes available and he thinks the signing is all his idea and the price is ok by him, he’ll think about doing it, maybe.
@Aliens,
The article is pretty straight forward… firstly, dont buy into the shit that the media is throwing at us, all the players are not likely to come. if you believe them, you are deluded. Secondly, we have a good squad, we do not need massive massive changes, a couple of addition which does not change the team shape unnecessarily will be sufficient for us to challenge the title 😀
Glad it wont be Milner. (even though ; it shows Liverpool have “more ambition”, that we “lost out”, or that we were “snubbed” by the player.)
I don’t want Cech either. Our keepers are every bit as good as him.
@ Nonny -June 4, 2015 at 3:22 pm – Thanks for that article . A great read and with which all AKBs will concur . We are in great hands and that’s why WE all sleep peacefully at night .
I totally ignore ‘them’ , never listen to our ex-players nor read anything churned out or regurgitated by the ostriches .
This close season am going to watch a lot of cricket and ignore the ‘breaking news ” circus .
And of course to come on here for the fine articles and to swat a few !
Yes great link to that Chris Gooner article Nonny. Was it that same ‘Chris’ who spoke to Arsenal TV after Wembley?
Thumbs up anyway for both!
Of speaking the truth –
A lady went to the pet store to buy a parrot on special offer and asks the sales person, “What is so special about the parrot ?”
Sales person : “This parrot can talk.”
So the lady asks the parrot ,”How do I look ?”
The parrot replies , “You look like a fucking prostitute !”
The lady gets pissed off and tells the sales person that it is a rude parrot and that she cannot buy it.
The sales person tells her to please wait for 2 minutes , takes the parrot to the back of the store ,and shoves the bird into a bucket of water , and when he finally pulls it out ,he warns it , “If you disrespect that lady out there again , I’ll soak you in water again.” He then takes it back outside.
He then invites the lady to ask the parrot another question .
Lady : ” If I come home with a man , what would you think ?”
Parrot : ” That he is your husband .”
Lady : ” Two men ?”
Parrot : Your husband and his brother .”
Lady : ” Three men ?”
Parrot : ” Your husband , his brother and your brother .”
Lady : ” Four men ?”
Parrot to salesman, ” Bring the fucking bucket of water , I already told you that she’s a prostitute !”
A couple pass a really hot girl on the street .
Wife : ” They are so big aren’t they ?”
Fool , …sorry , the husband : ” Yes they are .”
Wife : ” Are they artificial ?”
Husband : ” I think that they are natural .”
Wife : ” The ear-rings are natural ?”
It suddenly gets chilly and total silence reigns …..for a while at least !
The team/squad we finished the season with is in my opinion better than Cities and Uniteds.
It is without question better than Liverpools, Spurs and Southamptons.
There need for additions is greater than ours, far greater in some cases.
So why is it just us that gets the ‘You need at least 4 additions to challenge’ mantra thrown at us everyday?
I contest that, as it stands, our squad is well capable of giving Chelsea a run for there money, as shown by the relative performances since January, when, with additions and the return of injured players, our squad really came together.
Okay, if Chelsea et el acquire Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, or the like, we may be in trouble. On the other hand if we acquire them? But is any of that likely to happen? I doubt it.
Conversely if Chelsea et el acquire Falcoa is that an improvement? Would it improve us? I don’t think so.
The thing is we could all improve, but why is it only us that keeps getting told we HAVE to?
Additions or no additions, as we stand we are easily good enough to challenge Chelsea for the title next year, certainly more so than most, even City.
Enjoyable article,Tony. @ Aliens, on what basis are you saying that a bout Tony? Am sure you have always been of the school of thought that we are never going to win anything. Two FA Cups in succession not withstanding, Arsenal will never be seen as good enough. A team that has done very well in the past two seasons barring the misfortune of injuries. We all know who is deluded, and it’s not Tony.
@Brickfields. Your wit is something else.