Arsenal’s transfers only confused by the needy media seeking to be at the centre

By Tony Attwood

Tucked away at the foot of a long article in the Guardian about Arsenal’s transfer of Aubameyang is this notion

“It remains unclear if Dortmund are willing to sell this month given the lack of time to secure a replacement.”

That is quite a killer in terms of a deal, because if the club don’t want the man to go, he won’t go.

Tucked away at the foot of an article in the Times is the comment from Mino Raiolathat, Mkhitaryan’s agent who says, (allegedly) “Sanchez is part of the Mkhi deal, not the other way around.”

The suggestion is that without a deal relating to Mkhitaryan there is no Alexis move to Manchester United.  The web site continues with the report that the agent has said,”Mkhitaryan would actually prefer a move back to former club Borussia Dortmund,”

There is a report in the Telegraph that Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat “is believed to have assured Arsenal that Aubameyang is hard working and dedicated and that his current issues at Dortmund are not reflective of his normal personality.”

I think the word “believed” is quite important in this.   In the Guardian that “believed” becomes “understood” as in “For their part, Arsenal are understood to be unconcerned about Aubameyang’s disciplinary record despite reports to the contrary.”   They note that Sven Mislintat, whom they insist on calling “The German” made the arrangements that were responsible for helping to sign Aubameyang from Saint-Étienne.

Meanwhile the Telegraph tells us that “Mislintat is believed to have assured Arsenal that Aubameyang is hard working and dedicated and that his current issues at Dortmund are not reflective of his normal personality.”

Tucked away in all this is the use of words like “believed” suggesting that no one really has much idea about anything.  And yet the stories continue to dominate that needy sports news – needy in the sense that they need stories every day to keep people reading.

So where does Lacazette fit into this move for a new forward?  The Telegraph has an answer for that, although it comes with another “believed”. “Arsenal believe he will benefit from competition for his place and is also capable of partnering Aubameyang.”

Certainly it is inteesting how often the name “Mislintat” appears in all this, with the Daily Mirror pronouncing that “How Sven Mislintat has changed Arsenal’s outdated scouting system since arriving from Dortmund.”  Other papers are pointing out that it was he who recommended Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, who put in an excellent show at the under 23 game against Manchester United which Arsenal won 4-0.

Apparently Mislintat was also the man who proposed that Arsenal sign Malcom, although the story now is that Bordeaux don’t want to let him go.

Unfortunately the Mirror doesn’t actually tell us much about the “how” or what was outdated about the “old” system, although it is interesting that the Mirror is now quoting Football London, which it owns, rather than just Football London quoting the Mirror.  This means that the “according to reports” transfer rumours can now be kept fully in house by the paper and the website simply quoting each other as the source of any story they make up.

In fact as one starts to look further into the various rumours swirling around at the moment, something rather incidious emerges.

“Aubameyang once enjoyed a close relationship with some members of the German press but, having been warned by Dortmund about speaking out on his future, that has steadily deteriorated over the past 18 months,” says the Guardian.

It is a clue to what is going on.  The club has told the player not to discuss his future with the media – which is normal.  But the media is calling that a deterioration in relationships, which is another way of saying they are now filling up space by making stories up.

His father was particularly annoyed by the media calling one reporter,  “A shitty journalist who treats my son like a monkey.  I feel he wants to take us back to Hitler’s time. I just think the little monkey and his family have to leave here because at least this small class newspaper will be quiet to know we are no longer at home.”

The problem is that if the player and his family are having problems with the German press, they will quickly realise that what goes on there is nothing compared to the way the British media act – a media which has looked at what Donald Trump does to the truth and taken it as a blueprint rather than a dire warning.  (Actually that is just an update on the notion of the media having read the novel “1984” and taken that as a blueprint rather than a warning, but I think it works just as well.

Anyway, one more snippet: with all these forwards coming to Arsenal what does that mean for Olivier Giroud?   The Telegraph obligingly tells us…

“The arrival of Aubameyang would be a blow for Olivier Giroud, but Dortmund may try to take the Frenchman in the opposite direction. Giroud has admitted that he was close to joining Dortmund last summer, but the German club pulled the plug because Aubameyang stayed. Dortmund could now ask that Giroud is included in Arsenal’s bid for Aubameyang or try to sign him in a separate deal.”

Which now means there is an extra level in the exchange process.  No wonder everything is always done in the final seconds of the window.  I wouldn’t try holding your breath.

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28 Replies to “Arsenal’s transfers only confused by the needy media seeking to be at the centre”

  1. Arsenal is a mess with a poor thin and unbalanced squad.
    At the helm we have a manager who is unable to get his expensively team to perform consistently.

    But let’s keep blaming everyone else.

  2. Everybody knows that Arsenal will go out of their way not to reveal anything about their transfer dealings until they are certain the deal is done, it has always being like that. Ofc that has never stopped the media in inventing about 10-15 players Wenger will sign in each transfer window, and no matter how many times they are proven as lies, fabrications etc it will always stay like that.

    PS. Dexter your analysis of the article is spot on, keep doing it, your message will be heard lol

  3. I don’t think for one second anyone believes everything printed in the press regarding transfers for the majority of false rumours start at the door of agents but it is churlish to deny the press don’t have links to clubs who in are feed snippets
    What can’t be denied is that something is stirring at Arsenal players like Coquelin and Walcott lauded on here are it seems off and the assurance given by AW that Sanchez will stay a descion applauded on here seems now to have become nothing more than an unmitigated disaster both in the players attitude and indeed it’s financial implications
    In Arsenal’s 2016/17 accounts there was a warning flagged up in that wage rises will inevitably follow the latest TV deal but yet caught up and the wage costs reflected in those accounts were destined to rise at pace.
    No one is suggesting that Arsenal will be putting out the begging bowl but the likelihood of signing first team starters for fees below £30 million seem to be a thing of the past agents will know that and when it comes to players in the last year of their contracts hold all the power and whilst it seems that the Sanchez saga is reaching its conclusion just like red buses another players names will inevitably feature in a succession of articles no doubt based on a snippet but none the less articles are not without foundation
    Ozil has managed to a degree to be under the radar but that won’t be the case for much longer but it’s the Wilshire negotiations that will be the most interesting for he is a player who still oozes potential despite his age and if you put to one side the length of his contract and his past injury record in the current market he probably is a £50 million player and clubs will be more than happy to offer him far more lucrative deals than are being reported to be on the table.
    As you know Arsenal aren’t my club but I have always applauded them for their stability and indeed the way in which they went about their business but on the face of it things at the Emeriates seem to be chaotic and whilst I would fully accept that’s how things seem to be at Stamford Bridge the management team and indeed the board seem to always have a plan and that at the moment doesn’t seem to be the case at Arsenal.

  4. On the other hand Tony, Arsene himself has said he will be active in the transfer market this January. Did he use the word “busy” even? Now I guess that could be just the Coquelin and Mavropanos transfers but Wenger has also talked about Sanchez being “on standby” for a transfer. Furthermore he says he has been reassured the board will sanction a Sanchez replacement. And of course Alladyce has confirmed he wants Theo. And real live pics of him arriving/leaving Goodison now exist.

    With those kind of statements from the horses mouth its open season for the media to speculate and sell the papers, stimulate the online traffic hits etc. There is certainly a real story worth chasing here.

    From an attacking point of view, unless Arsene is going to promote academy youngsters, our squad is likely to be 2 men down in a day or two. I can’t see Wenger letting the season continue without at least one player coming in. Especially as its an attacking player. He likes those. I agree with Arseblog though : It’s the midfield where we could do with a serious acquisition. Even if AMN is being promoted into the midfield fray soon, we’ve actually only got 3 players who are not injury prone. Difficult in January to get one I suspect but perhaps Sven Mislintat can point Arsene in the right direction.

  5. As long as we remember that the definition of the word belief is;

    “putting faith in a something that is unknown, unproven, without proof, could be lies, made up, fantasy etc, etc.”

    Then there is no problem.

    Sad though that many have become used to the meaning religions tend to use, that is; absolute truth.

  6. 1984 seems to be getting quite a lot of promotion on here. Is it Aubameyang’s proposed shirt number?

    But seriously Mr. Attwood if you like 1984 you’ll probably enjoy Yevgeny Zamyatin’s “We”, the book that apparently inspired 1984.

    As for Dortmund not letting their man go that doesn’t seem to apply to Sanchez at Arsenal. It seems we can’t tell our players to stay. Or maybe Sanchez will go nowhere.

    I agree with Fishpie and Arseblog, we could do with a midfielder.

  7. I can’t quite understand why Ian Wright is saying that Arsenal are “panic buying”.

    Here’s a guy who not too long ago was calling for an almighty shake up of the squad, and that is what appears to be happening.

    Maybe Wrighty is just having a pop at Sven Mislintat for coming into the club and taking over Recruitment.

    Unfortunately Ian, that is what a “Head of Recruitment” generally does!

  8. The_Ledge
    And now Wright is blaming Wenger for Theo Walcott’s apparent lack of developement since signing for Arsenal.
    He really has it in for Wenger doesn’t he.

  9. Walcott played in front of the 2 best assist makers in premier league history ( Fabregas and Ozil).if he couldn’t learn from that.
    He had it on a plate.

  10. Theo was never used to his best ability which was only one. If we had seen the pass that Iwobi gave to Bellerin 4 or 5 times a match to tHeo he would have scored a lot more. Too often he was offside because the ball came too slowly to him. We have tended to play the ball inside when we advance into the final third. He made runs but they were not seen. It’s the style of play not so much the player. Everton will get goals from him as they play a more direct game , Hopefully not against us in early February , although I would’nt bet against it.

  11. Wright also said that Arsenal’s “failure” to deal with the Sanchez situation was “embarrassing”. On a separate piece, he then stated “Liverpool ace Oxlade-Chamberlain has silenced taunting Gooner memes”.

    I guess it is quite clear what these washed up, ex-Arsenal players have to do in order to get a taste of the spotlight again. To anyone that doesn’t think there is a media bias/agenda against Arsenal; why is it that literally no other club has so many of its ex-players coming out to attack them on a daily basis?

  12. There is so much garbage churned out by the papers one wonders why anyone would read them.

    I always thought that TW was a good player for the club and quite a deadly finisher.

    Maybe he was not always used to the best of his potential, but he was injured many times.

    I reckon, had he not been injured in that cup tie against the scum, and then out for a long time, he Might have been great.

    Much as I hate to say it, I do think that the time is right for him to leave, with our best wishes and a big thank you for what he has done for us over the years.

    I am at a loss to understand why it is that we should be picking up Marinho’s castoffs.

    I do reckon that, as we have seen in the past, we are actually concentrating on someone completely different, but allowing the media to hype up these players to distract attention from our real targets.

  13. Let’s hope we get a replacement for Alexis if he leave, I’m sure AW and his team we get a capable replacement. AW did bring in Alexis and Ozil.

  14. Jammy. Yes I agree. Ian Wright has a habit of saying nasty things, some of which are actually factually incorrect. I think he may be bitter about being dropped for a young 17 year old Anelka. The interesting thing is that none of these have ever had a proper job in football. They sit in a TV studio, brainwasshed with anti-Arsenal narrative and then start spewing it themselves. It seems to be those with a limited education, Merson the Chelsea fan is the same.

    I suspect the media are clever with their choices regarding ex players. Unlike Liverpool where all their ex players seem oblivious to the fact they’ve never won a premier league title in their history. Never gets a mention. Just like our 3 FA Cups in 4 seasons is excluded as an achievement.

  15. Who is doing our transfer negotiations now that Dick Law has stepped down?
    Is it Gazidis or the ex Team Sky chap?
    I cannot see us letting Theo no with no replacement.

  16. Also, why is the transfer of Alexis embarrassing? Does he have some inside info? All we know its that the agent of Mkhitaryan /Mkhi himself is holding things up. Two, if Arsenal havent dealt with the ‘situation'(whatever that is?), are they not similar to Bayern and Man City in thinking his wage demands are to high?
    Much of the commentary online about the transfer seems to think this is all like shopping in a supermarket, and just grabbing a tin of beans of the shelf. If anything is embarrassing is the medias hysterical sensationalism over the Sanchez transfer, added to by the tweeterati:”Where’s my beans!?”
    I also thought it was unwittingly ironic that its been admitted by a group that are ultra- critical of Theo, that he lost much of his confidence through getting lots of stick from the fans. Perhaps in thirty years they will all be his best mate as he comes back at half-time during an Emirates game to tell it like it wasnt?Unless the fans organised a revolution and took over the the club-which then went bust( yet it was still blamed on Wenger-” he ran off with the beans!”)in 2018.
    I dont see how the OX has silenced the Arsenal fans, do you? He hasnt been to hot so far.
    Ive often wondered why people think that when the going gets tough, lets give everyone a bollocking and have a protest(“wheres my beans?”) and make things even worse. Seems a bit Victorian to me”that will make them snap ou tof it!”?Encouragment and support seem to do the trick better, West Ham knew that they were the 12th man at Upton Park, but we do the opposite?But then Ive got no click-bait agenda,so who cares what I think…the rumour is Palace consider the protest to be fifth columist in nature, and are cheering them on. Its a Deconstructrualist world you know!

  17. I think that “We” being an influence on “1984” is extremely unlikely. Indeed Orwell himself said that “We” was an influence on “Brave New Work” by Aldous Huxley. Huxley denied that. But the difference is that although We and 1984 relate to totalitarian states, We relates to the distant future in which all individualism has been removed. 1984 has the state enforcing conformity by changing the way people speak but has hierarchies.
    Perhaps more interesting is the fact that the original title of 1984 was 1948 but the publisher refused to accept it with that title.
    However I do see the techniques of the newspaper industry in 1984 apparent in today’s journalism. Before digitalisation the common view was that the takeover by the state was impossible because no group could monitor the masses all the time, but now of course we know it can and is happening. All that is needed is for us to be kept under control.
    “If there is hope it lies in the proles” is right because only in the mass of the people could there be enough energy and force to destroy the Party. So today, if there is hope to overthrow the determination of the mass media to control the way we see the world, it can only comes from today’s proles – the bloggers.

  18. Kenneth Widmerpool

    If anyone should be embarrassed surely it should be City?

    They have been the front runners for his signature since the summer and they are going to miss out. If in the summer they had come up with there decent offer a bit earlier than they did, that may, just may of given us a chance of getting a replacement in, be it Lemar or ANother, facilitating the move.

    As I said at the time, it was really City playing hardball (that’s up to them) and revealing there hand too late that meant they didn’t get there man, yet it was us that got all the stick, as usual.

    Now, again they look like being gazumped by United.

    But of course, when it’s City playing hard ball over price/wages or whatever, they’re being smart, where as we are ‘dithering’.

    Nope, as usual Kenneth it’s all Arsenals fault.

    If only we did our dealings like Spurs and Liverpool perhaps we’d of won something these last few years, because those 2 really are leading the way when it comes to winning trophies.

    NB

    I’m not having a pop at City here by the way, just the medias take on it by typically laying all the blame (if indeed there is any blame to be laid?) at Arsenal/Wengers door.

    Personally I don’t blame City. I think Sanchez is a greedy c*** and as such I will be glad to see the back of him.

    This isn’t to say I don’t think the guys a very good player (not great), or that I didn’t want him to WANT to stay, but he’s chosen to shit all over the Club, the manager, and the fans that took him in, and took him to their hearts, when he needed it, so good riddance as far as I’m concerned.

  19. So Theo is gone. After his knee injury he never really got back to the level he had. Lots of injuries held him back and cost him his ultimate weapon: his pace.
    Thanks for the 12 years Theo. Good luck but not when Arsenal Belgium comes over

  20. I feel kind of sad that Theos gone, I think on a personal level he was at odds with many of the fans for a long time, I recall him not really celebrating after the 5-2 thrashing we gave the Spuds. As you say Walter, good luck mate, but not when we are in town!

    Nitram- Too much pressure on players to be perfect? If AW to be blamed for messing up players, then a)what does that say about players themselves, especailly those now past who are glorified beyond their Bunyans and b) what about the enless media(in all forms) slagging that get when the fans havent had their beans?

    I also wondered if Man City felt a bit shamed. The ManUre fans seem to think that Jose has got another one over AW.But will shall see. Personally (could be wrong though) I have a lot of doubts over Sanchez, we had a solid dressing room(attitude?) before he came, and that doesnt seem there at the moment(maybe it will be back when hes off?. Certainly Sanchez loses the ball too much and often seems to be a selfish player, of course when he scores crucial or fabulous goals thats all well and good, but the rest of the time he seems the spanner the the Wenger- ball works?Perhpas he and the Ox had cleared off earlier before the season started would we have got off to such a shakey start etc? Who can tell though?How much has Sanchez affected the mangement with his sulking too ( if the gossip is to be believed) and the lads?
    Its true that we got stuck with the “dithering” tag while others are “smart”, bit like the 4th trophy horsemanure, but if Man Ure, the CHickens or Liverpool get 4th, thats a good season.
    If we hadnt left Highbury, I ve often wonderd what the last years would have been like? Would we have seen Özil or Sanchez or Lacca?Could we have managed fincanically once the new money came in?
    Tony-I reckon your 4.49 is nearly a new article?

  21. I think its quite easy to blame AW for Theo not reaching his potential at Arsenal but perhaps this was his career? He arrived as a one of the most promising England players of his generation, got taken to a WC and not used and has, largely, failed to live up to the hype ever since. I don’t really blame him – he was always a trier but never seemed to learn. Wenger kept faith with him for a long time but we’ve all seen how his game has stagnated. I’ve been saying he needs to leave for ages (Tony will testify to that!) so good luck. As Plato* would have said, ‘so long Theo, and thanks for all the fish’.

    * that’s Plato the dolphin btw

  22. So far this window we’ve made £32 million from two players used mainly in the Carabao and Europa Cups. I don’t see the problem. Theo was on huge wages for not being a first team starter. Wenger has done good business and the money can be invested into new faces. Sanchez going will be a catharsis for the team – the word on PEA is he’s charismatic and has personality, as well as his ability in front of goal. He could easily be a disaster if he starts acting up, but maybe he’s a better bet than Mkhitarian who seems completely uninterested in coming to Arsenal. Either way, the opinion of Ian Wright means less than garbage right now, since he can’t even be consistent with his views. A complete tosser, in other words.

  23. Good luck, Theo. He never developed into a superstar but hey, he did alright and he wore our colours with pride.

    I don’t agree with those that say that because some of our players move that this somehow makes us a bad club. Neymar is not at Barca anymore and Coutinho is not at Liverpool anymore. It happens. People change employers as is their right.

  24. Do you think that using that same argument above , we may be able to unwind the stupidity that exists in the brains (?) of pundits ?

    Will the argument still hold in a vacuum ? Or at the very least ,a not so full or mushy brain ?

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