Morning all.
One thing we all pretty much agree on is Arsenal need a striker this summer. A guy who pops up everywhere, knows where the goal is and sends the ball flying into the back of the net.
Reading around the Arsenal blogs, so many names have been suggested. Ibra, Benteke, Lukaku, Aubameyang, Higuain, Lewandowski, Sturridge….. the list is endless.
But it’s Álvaro Morata who seems to be the many Arsenal fans favourite but why?
Ditched by Real Madrid a couple of years ago, he headed to Italy with Juventus for a fee reported to be around 20 million Euros but after just two seasons, it’s looking likely that the player will be on the move again this summer with Arsenal showing a great deal of interest according to the newspapers.
I think it’s fair to say that Morata hasn’t had the best of time in Italy, not when it comes to scoring goals as he’s only notched up 27 in 93 appearances so on that form, he’s not exactly the 25/30 goal a season striker we are all crying out for. But he’s young and at Juve, he hasn’t got a Mesut Ozil creating scoring opportunities at the same rate he did last season so surely, his goal scoring figures would seriously improve should Arsenal secure a deal for him.
Álvaro Morata is described as being good in the air and at holding up the ball. He possess clinical finishing ability, quick feet and excellent movement. Morata drew comparisons to Real Madrid and Spain’s Fernando Morientes due to his playing style.
During his first season at Juventus, he stood out for his pace, energy and work-rate on the pitch, while his technique, opportunism and positional sense saw him score several crucial goals. A versatile and well-rounded forward, Morata is capable of playing as a main striker or linking up play between the lines, and can even play out wide on the wing. He is also an accurate penalty taker.
So despite his lack of goals to date, this young 23 year old seems to have all the qualities to become a great striker but signing him could be tricky. Real Madrid have first option to sign him back which I strongly suspect they will and then he’ll probably be sold on for a much higher price because that’s what Madrid do and why not, it’s shrewd business. All top quality strikers come with a hefty price tag because they win football matches and Arsenal haven’t had one of those since RvP had a couple of golden seasons, or was it just one, I can’t remember…. lol
Another reason signing Morata could be difficult to sign is Mourinho, the man who likes to scupper as many Arsenal deals as he can because he’s a git and he really dislikes Arsene Wenger, wants him at Man Utd. But he has history with Real Madrid and despite signing a contract extension with the Spanish club which wasn’t due to expire until 2016, in the summer of 2013, Mourinho left by ‘mutual agreement’. In other words, he was sacked and I’m not surprised after the way he behaved on the touch-line. Hopefully, this will prevent Real Madrid doing any business with the under tall Portuguese git.
£55 million is reported to be the fee Real Madrid are asking for Álvaro Morata, but would he be worth it?
He’s a nice guy as back in March 2014, he shaved off all of his hair in solidarity with sick children, saying:
‘Kids with cancer wanted to have my haircut but they couldn’t, so I gave myself theirs’.
According to a headline on NN this morning, Arsenal have made an offer of 60 million Euros for Morata but will that be enough to bring him to Arsenal…..
Other transfer gossip:
Arsenal target N’Golo Kante has rejected a new contract from Leicester, according to Le Parisien.
Arsenal will attempt to hijack Roma’s move for Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, that’s according to Calciomercato.
Maureen is indeed an oily git – but speculation is that he wants a striker that looks like a muskateer in the shape of Ibrahimovic. But I agree, he will do anything to upset us. Rumour too that Rambo is wanted by him.
As for Morata – he’s 23, can score in big games and seems to be ready for a club that will show faith and play him. Personally, I don’t care how much players cost – we have the cash and all Gunners fans have earned the luxury of a big spending summer.
Ditto Iceman. Having been starved of signings last summer, AW needs to show some ambition…
After all, we can’t bask in the hilarity of finishing above the stains all summer…or can we?
Thanks Rico.
Wenger will say of the endless list of strikers ( add Dybala, Icardi ) is that they are not available, but we all know that any player is available at the right price and it`s just a matter of paying that little bit extra.
Also how many of these clubs with the players are bigger than us according to Deloitte/Forbes lists ?.
Did Gazidis not say that we could buy any player apart from Ronaldo and Messi ?……………….time to walk the walk !.
HAS WENGER BEEN TOLD ITS TIME TO WASTE 40 MILL, & NO WE DON,T WAN T HIM THERE,S GOT TO BE A BETTER STRIKER FOR LESS MONEY.GIVE LEICESTER 20 MILL FOR VARDY
Morning All
Morning Rico
Pace, I keep hearing the word pace and Alvaro Morata in the same sentence.
A central striker with pace as well as all the other attributes a centre-forward needs, is possibly what we need to transform our pedestrian build-up and solve our problem breaking down the parked bus..?
With Alexis playing off of Morata, our attack will take on a more dynamic approach…
I’ve forgotten them already Iceman…
Lord Harris wasn’t it LC who made the big statement last summer?
I reckon he’ll get one of the big ones this time, I really do… Or an upcoming one from France.. 😉
Pay that much for a striker who didn’t even score more than 10 goals? I would rather keep Theo and that’s saying a lot!!! Please, lets forget this Morata guy and concentrate on getting a real striker like Suarez!! But no one is around who is anywhere near him for sale!!!!
Very good read plus accurate analysis of Morata who in my opinion is very over rated.
You are right Iceman, Morata scores ‘big goals’ but so did Bendtner too….
In Morata’s first season he played mostly with Tevez and rotated with another former Arsenal fans favourite Llorente.
Both failed to take over lucinic, Quagliarella and Tevez’s play even though they had the services of Giovicio, Podba, Pirlo, Vidal.
Both Llorente and Morata scored 15 goals between them in all competitions whilst Tevez scored 21+ goals in the Serie A alone.
When Tevez decided to leave Juve knew Morata would not be good enough to lead the line so they hijacked our move for Mandukic and they also got Dybala who fans should note is 22 y.o. Dybala a player last summer I mentioned would become a superstar and that AW should be going for is now deemed to be worth even more than 90 million Euros by Juve after rebuffing Barca’s offer.
Last season Morata scored less goals (7 in Serie A and 12 all together) whilst Dybala scored 23 goals and Mandzukic (10). Also Dybala played mostly behind Morata. Ok Dybala started in 8 more games than Morata but Morata played in more games in total than Dybala.
If Morata was good I bet the Old Lady would have taken the 90m from Barca and paid RM the £40m they provisionally agreed 2 seasons ago…
I am always confused with the reasons why Arsenal fans slate OG12 and continuously claim players like Morata, Llorente are far better than OG12. where is Michu another player fans and pundits slated AW for not paying over the odds for now?
If we are going to spend that kind of money I would rather spend it on Lukaku, Berahino and their stock.
Correct Rico !
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/11759843/Arsenal-can-break-transfer-record-to-sign-top-striker-says-club-director-Lord-Harris.html
Morning Kev, hope there’s more to this story than ST spin or journo rubbish..
No need to shout Steven!
tsgh – you could be right, but I’m not sure that Lukaku – spectacular or shite in equal measure, or Berahino the sulker are any more attractive. I also agree that OG12 is – for a £12m striker, an absolute genius. He only gets the slatings he does because he is at our club. If he was anywhere else, the manager who brought him in would be lauded as a genius who gets an average 20 goals a season from a 12 million quid striker!
You been on the phone to Tevez over the years gone by then Ts?? 😉
Welcome Thor, how many goals had Henry scored before he came to Arsenal from Juventus?
Morata seems to have the same hype Theo has. Scores in big games and ish. This season we lost cause we lost points in ‘small’ games.
Again is PEA untouchable? Can we test BvB’s resolve with a £45-£50M? That Portuguese c*nt can get morata for all I care. He hates AW but I think he’ll focus more on his immediate neighbor – Pep
No I don’t speak Spanish nor Portuguese or Italiano Rico. 😉
Ginge, you may not be multi-lingual, but are you secretly a Super Agent?
That £40+£1 for Suarez seems like a bargain now. And you wonder why people call Wenger a c*nt. That was the worst transfer move they made.
Xhaka confirmed. A long term deal
Just wondered Ts as you knew how Tevez was thinking…. 😉
Nice post rico. ..
Ts i don’t think all Fans are sold on morata Ive heard a few mention 50m+ is a bit much for him I think a lot of fans are just desperate for some kinda striker or any transfer at this point due to last summers zero transfer activity.
I personally haven’t seen enough of morata, the little I have seen 50m is way over the top imo. I’d rather buy Aubameyang or Higuain.
I doubt it was just AW involved in the extra pound offer Marshall but it certainly was a stupid thing to do. Suarez must have felt really wanted after that…
@arsenal just confirmed. Get in Xhaka!
Xhaka has signed
Aw, Dick Law, Gazidis all the parties involved were a bunch of sh*t
fantastic!
Morning All
Top strikers…..Why would a Top striker
want to play in the Premier League.
Its fast,Physicle and stamina draining
injuries are a certainty.
So it must be for the money then.
Thats thats sorted,
Wenger likes to mould players square pegs
and all that.
Surely he has to bring in a bit of pace to start with
plus a player that can move around the the box and find
space.
Coaching can help a striker find the back of the net
improving shooting and heading is basic in most
clubs.
We all know who the Top strikers don’t we.
Who’s would sell a Top striker for under 100 million
not a Top club,,That’s for sure.
I get the feeling wenger may have given up trying to mould
a player to play up front going by Walnut and Danny positions.
Not seen much of the new geezer only Tv stuff….But
He looks more like it..6ft 1in Left boot good in the air
happy to hang around the middle plenty of verbel great.
But what I the most about this geezer is his.
Temper that word we don’t see much of that anymore,
and what about 29 yellows and 5 reds
Can’t wait to see this geezer in action.
So off we go again….The Transfer Window
11.41 guys… 😉 😉
Nice.. where is Goonie with his creamed pants.
Oh and you were not the one who said we would sign Xhaka. Moi did last summer. 😛
Same here Fred, can’t wait to see our new hard man in action… The referees will love him… lol
Is your last at me Ts? If so, I don’t recall you saying we’d sign him, just that you thought he was the better midfielder we were being linked to. Still, if knowing you’re right makes you feel good, I’ll agree with you… 😉
Fred why wouldn’t any player esp a striker want to play in the premier league? The money is insane here! Chavs, Petrocity, scouscers, Manure would easily pay a prolific striker 250k+ a week.
Now that is a midfielder who can go half a way to appease losing my favourite player MA08…
Jeez Goonie- Xhaka joining and weakening Mong’bach as well… A shame! With Norveirt also leaving they have no midfield anymore. Shubert seems like a good manger for them so hopefully he can unearth another gem.
This gives the BVB rivals Sc04 a chance to get into top 3…
Kramer and Bayer 04 can go F themselves…; I hope Klopp buys from them to weaken them…
You tell me marshall
£40m+£1 was enough to meet Suarez’s buy out clause the club owners subsequently admitted this.
But liverpool decided to brazen it out and hope they could change the players mind because at the time of the offer Suarez wanted to come to Arsenal.
So why did this change Gerrard admit to changing Suarez’s mind also he’s wife from Barcelona and he wanted to go there we’d have only been a stepping stone.
Rico- I know I don’t proof read my post but my 11:56 mentions Goonie; so not aimed at you. 😉
Who’s the best strikers in the premier league
Kane
Augero
Vardy
Just these 3 got over 20 goals
Would city sell Augero to us for under 100mil
Would spuds sell Kane to us for under 100mil
We could get Vardy for under 30mil
Hands up then
Joe, I think the extra pound was seen as an insult, which tbh, it was really.
Ok Ts.
But let’s just bad mouth everyone at the club over Suarez deal in which arsenal meet the buyout clause liverpool laid over its existence and the player changed he’s mind.
Now the question is how did Arsenal know about the secret buy out clause they got it from the players agent the reason for the offer as stated.
But in the end Suarez always wanted to get to Barcelona
3 no’s from me Fred, although Vardy is getting on a bit now so he might be a bit cheaper… lol
It wasn’t an insult it was the amount of money required to activate he’s buyout clause.
Guys and Girl ……………….we can talk transfer gossip untill the cows come home of who we would like and who`s available but at the end of the day unless it`s on David Ornstein`s twitter account it`s not true !……………..like me……even Arsene checks it out every day !. 🙂
40m+1 was bollocks. Give 40.1m atleast. 1p? I’d ask you what you really are smoking.
And Suarez wanted to leave. He was even forced to train alone cause of the attitude he was showing to the club. Then slippy G happened.
Lol can Ornstein confirm our PEA deal?
Joe- you know its always AW’s fault.
When we make a signings its IG’s doing though; until the player does not do well and then its AW’s fault for using the said player wrongly. 😉
Ornstein gets it from the Metro…
Why 40m+1 was enough to activate the buyout clause but why not fall for the liverpool spin.
first there was no buyout clause then the amount was an insult.
Even the what are they smoking came from Liverpool but some fans will believe any thing that’s anti Arsenal if it enforces the views about the club and manager
I thought it was from The Mirror Kev… 😉
I have it on good authority that he gets his info straight from an inside source at London Colney……………. Phyllis Stein the tea lady !
Morning Rico and all.
From what I’ve seen, Morata is a very good player. But I haven’t seen enough of him to predict where he would play and I haven’t watched Icardi or Dybala at all.
Good news on Xhaka though I haven’t seen much of him either.
Rico, I forgot, that was a good post…
Btw, had Adam furnished you with those 3 or 4 posts he said he was gonna do… ?
I’ve done mine, I’m just saving them for next month… ?
Don’t diss the Phylis, she makes a mean cuppa…
Speak of Old Nick, ?
Tsgh is that true
TS. Every transfer is a risk for the club and is about much more than just the fee surely. It strikes me that the psychology of a successful transfer and of a winning team is an area where a manager can really make a difference. Hence Ranieri’s amazing season. Dealing with some of these players must be difficult and rathe irritating.
🙂 Joe you know its true. AW caused austerity too…
Kev- when are you sending Goldman Sachs the cheque to buy out Uber? 😉
Adam. so true. But I believe in AW’s case his recent failures in that regard has made him even more hesitant.
The fact that last summer he went to Mong’bach to ask for Xhaka and Kramer on loan goes to show imho how fearful he may have been.
Afternoon Adam. I’ve watched all of them. Youtube often comes in handy… 😉
🙂 Kev, not yet….
SO, WHO IS £35MILLION ARSENAL SIGNING GRANIT XHAKA?
Granit Xhaka can play as a defensive midfielder or deep lying playmaker and has been described as a young Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The 23-year-old had been mooted as a potential replacement for Xabi Alonso at Bayern Munich but Arsenal’s interest and his desire to play in the Premier League will see him head to north London instead.
Born in Basle, he came up through the Swiss champions’ academy system before graduating to the first team, featuring in the Champions League and helping the club secure a league-and-cup double before leaving for Borussia Monchengladbach.
He signed, as a 19-year-old, for around £6.5million and his box-to-box physical style and impressive passing range drew admirers in the Bundesliga before Arsenal made their move.
Switzerland manager Vladimir Petkovic said of Xhaka: ‘Granit has the ambition and the confidence to make it all the way to the top at international level.
‘From a mental point of view he is ready to guide a team in the right direction. You can feel his respect for the older leaders in the team. I take that as a sign for his social intelligence.
‘He doesn’t look for conflicts, he looks for responsibility.’
I Like him already….
Catch up in a bit….
TS. I agree that Wenger has signed some players that seemed like real turkeys and that this will almost certainly have made him more wary, especially in the market. Last season’s inactivity might not have lead directly to a failure to win the PL but, then again, teams do seem to need refreshing on an annual basis, if only for tactical options and cover for injuries.
Rico. I shall check this YouTube you speak of.
Wasn’t Wenger so close to signing a young Godin in 2010 that Fifa (Video game) made a mistake on the the initial releases and put him in Arsenal?
Ok some facts for the data cultist and for those who have no faith in coincidence and stats/data… 😉
1. AW has never won a league title in any of the 3 leagues he has managed without having a left footed CDM or no.6 amongst his starting XV.
2. AW has never won a title without having at least 2 franco-africans in his starting XV.
3. AW has on more than 5 occasions had a striker who has finished the leagues top striker but has failed to win the title that year. Even Leicester had Morgan although representing Jamaica was born in Uk; Nottingham I think.
Outside of that, no team has won a title in any of the top 4 European leagues without having a notational as its Centre Back. Joleon Lescott won the title with City with the lowest number of appearances.
If Ligue Un is factored into equation then Monaco who finished 2nd but had the potential to be winners did not have a French born centre back either.
In the current top 6 teams only City, LCFc and Yanited have English born centre backs. Both Conte and Jose have been able to win titles in their first season of taking over a club but Jose has not taken over a club that finished more than 10 points behind league winners yet.
That leaves Pep as potential league winner but with his team finishing 4th they are likely to kick off at 3pm on match day 1 next season thereby making it quite unlikely to win the league. Saying that LCFC started season against Sunderland on a regular kick off time and went on to win the title…
I guess some stats are purely due to coincidence… 😛
Adam- there is no excuse for last summers productivity in the transfer market.
However, that is not to say effort was made in that regard.
Its always the clubs’ strategy in the transfer market that is the problem imo.
Assuming the following scenarios:-
1. Xhaka had not wanted to join us as he is not an AW and Arsenal fan and had opted to join another team such as Barca…
2.Barca definitely made a bid for him and after getting rebuffed they turned their attention to Pjanic after we agreed a deal with Xhaka
or
3.Xhaka had wanted to work with Pep instead. Pep wanted to sign Xhaka last season but Rumeineigge did not sanction deal apparently
I am sure this summer would probably have been another last minute supermarket sweep.
Last summer according to rumours Turan was the outfield player we made a solid bid for; unfortunately he chose to join Barca and sit on his ass for 6 months due to the transfer ban. The same could have happened this summer with Xhaka. Most bully boy clubs particularly RM, Chelsea and Barca wait for AW to make a bid and then step in and offer more… Ozil and Khedira in 2010, Mata and Turan most recently come to mind.
Also asking to bring Kramer who was on loan from Bayer 04 to arsenal on loan and then asking Mong’back for Xhaka on loan late August was a PR disaster.
Then said its probably all made up stories and all so who knows but AW and his close team who work on transfers…
TS. Personally I am glad we didn’t sign Turan.
🙂 Adam I am with you on that one. I must admit I always thought he and Koke plus Gabi and Miranda were the key players for Athletico.
However, in hindsight I am glad we did not sign him. A player who would rather choose to sit on his back side for 6 months is most probably not going to like a visit to Crystal Palace or Stoke in the autumn or winter months…
Have you had sight of his recent measurement re. weight and waist line? 😛
Afternoon guys….
I still recon we can get Isco and Vazquez for a good price instead of 50 for Morata.
I haven’t seen Morata play much and that’s a lot based on hoping he comes good.
TS. He looks rather tubby these days I must say which is only enhanced by his long shorts. Presumably his improbable beard is there to hide his double chins?
I don’t like him because he is a spiteful sod who often costs his team with his lack of discipline.
If Arsenal bids 45m for Morata then they are really smoking something over there – again I have watched the guy multiple times and Giroud is better than him. Pace is nothing if you can’t play, remember Theo? With Suarez the idiocy was not the 40 +1 initial bid. The idiocy was Arsenal drawing a line in the sand and digging in, knowing that a higher bid (45m) would’ve gotten the guy. Furthermore, at Ajax in 2009 and 2010 he wanted to come to Arsenal before Liverpool got him. The idea that he wanted to go to Barce shouldn’t even be considered. Once you have gotten the guy you hold the cards and if he still wants to leave later, you sell him for a higher price anyway. Btw, this idea that there are no strikers available is overrated, even the bad teams do score. Being a prolific striker has a lot to do with coaching (tactics) and supply (other players) there is way too much emphasis on strikers, if the other attackers do their part we will not have a problem – look at Henry, Dennis, Perez, Freddy. Even Aguero, as good as he is, struggles on his own.
Leicester are after a striker, Vardy on the move then… 😉
Afternoon Rico.
Please not us, Walcott number 2 with less finishing skill.
Obi, you can coach at the highest level but if the player doesn’t have the raw skills, he’ll never be good enough. As I said earlier, Henry came to us at a young age but with a poor goal scoring record and looked what he did.
Morata could quite easily do something similar…
Afternoon Adam.
Brad, as fine a striker Vardy is, we don’t play the kind of game which suits Vardy so I doubt AW would look at him…. Imo of course… Lol
Good Afternoon Lovelies and Hunkies.
Just a thought boss……….
In his only season at Juventus, TH14 played 19 games and scored only 3.
What happened after is the stuff of legends
In his 2 years at Juventus AM09 played 93 games scoring 27.
What happens after is anyone’s guess.
As you said…..he will have Ozil, Sanchez and Cazorla creating chances.
Exactly Devil, that’s the point I was trying to make… 🙂
Jaysus X!
Morata not good enough and Wally even better than him, are you people for real?
1st of all the chances created in the Italian league are less than in the English PL and if there is anything Arsenal are usually good at its creating chances, its just wimps like Wally and telephone poles like Giraud that are not so good at converting them. Morata with his technical superiority to Wally and speed that Giraud so painfully lacks would easily become a 20+ goal striker for us.
Morata left Madrid because there where people like Ronaldo and Bensema in front of him so to consider him not having been good enough to make it there as is being banded on some blogs is plain wrong. Thats the reason Madrid put in the buyback clause when they sold him.
Of the realistically available strikers out there he is prolly the best option we have and by far a better option than anything we have at the moment.
I agree with Rico re Henry, he did not arrive with the biggest reputation but look hat happened and if Morata could emulate half of what Henry did he would be a steal.
Rico, true talented players make coaches legends, and the he’s only 23 y.o. but I don’t see it though. And his supply is better than average especially considering Juve is in a 2 team league.
Henry situation though had a lot to do with position change and also the guys around him mainly Dennis and Perez etc…… maybe AW will play him on the wing…lol.
Lol with all due respect comparing Morata to a young TH14 is completely not a like for like comparison.
First and foremost Morata is an out and out striker and has played as an out and out striker. Dybala plays mostly as a second striker and scores 3 times more goals playing in the same team as Morata.
Also RM kept Jesse who is far better and loaned Morata because Jesse was more versatile…
Your arguments will hold true if Morata scored 7 goals but was still the highest scorer for the Old lady…
Considering he scored only 1 more goals than Pogba and less goals than Madzukic who played less games goes to show Allegri does not rate him.
Ask yourselves why RM who loaned out Morata to Juve placed a £uro 90m bid for Dybala. If Allegri rated Morata he would have taken the 90m Euros and paid the provisional £40m fee agree.
RM even offered Morata as part of the deal…
TT- Saying Morata is better than who we have is just speculating and baseless imho…
Each to their ow en TT….. Lol
Obi, Morata too is a winger/striker. I don’t watch the Italian league so I don’t know but perhaps he too has been played as a winger rather than a striker.
Ts, I don’t think anyone is comparing Morata with Henry, other than his age and what he did for us having struggled in Italy….
Dev- as a football man I completely and respectfully disagree with your assertion that ” In his only season at Juventus, TH14 played 19 games and scored only 3”
You probably forgetting Th14 was brought in as an understudy to the great Zozou…Also if Zizou scored only 2 goals that season and TH14 scored 3 times playing about 10 games less then TH14 had a better season…
TH14 would not have in a million years displaced Inzaghi and Del piero at Turin as a striker. Moreover TH14 played on the wings as well and actually played very well when he played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBDeTNlPt6w
Unfortunately lazy sports journo’s like to say TH14 had a bad season at Juve…; of course TH14 took the chance to join us because he had the option to play under AW who had brought him through at Monaco instead of Lippi who you and I know is a hard task master.
Pogba has been Juve’s right winger. Morata has not played as a winger at all…
The old lady also had Cuadrado and Asamoah covering as wingers.
Juve play 2 upfront and rotated Mandzukic, Dybala, Morata.
Allegri has continued with 5 in midfield as Conte did and so in all cases Evra(lhs) and Lichneiner(spelling) provide the width in the 5 man midfield with Bonnucci, Chellini and Bargazli.
Also 3 of Morata’s goals came from Penalties last season so his return is very poor for anything over 315m imho considering he is not even English…
TT, I think you should compare the chances that Juve creates rather than the entire Italian league. Morata gets an average of about 2 shots on goal and he scores less than 10 goals, of which most are tap ins on breakaways. Yup, there is an abundance of technical ability there. His technical ability is on his ability to hold-up, penalties and dribbling as a striker is above average, not on goal scoring.
Also, are we seriously saying that a Juve team that has played in the Champions League final and quarters in the last 2 years, won the league consecutively has less talent than Arsenal, for real? And btw, TT 99.99% of teams put a buy back clause in transfer dealing. It cost them nothing. Yes he could be Henry but imho I will not pay 45m for “could”, when I can pay “60m” for is.
My bad Rico… 😉
How do Juve keep doing those deals? Mascherano joining the Old Lady on a free transfer…
TS all valid points.
Well said Obi…
I see sections of fans are saying (not on here by the way) that Morata is worth £40m+ because he is in Spains squad… lol
Spain even have Lucas Vasquez who is a midfielder as their 5th striker… That goes to show how strikers have become scares. imho
Ts, perhaps those saying Morata is worth that amount is because they have watched him..
We all have our own ideas but unless Arsenal sign him, why worry… It’s what AW thinks which matters and on the odd occasion, he’s spotted a good striker…. Lol
Spain are so short of strikers that they took Aritz Aduriz who at 35y.o only has 3 caps…
Will fans like it if we could have Torres. Simeone does not want him anymore it is alleged…
It’s public knowledge tha At Madrid aren’t keeping Torres but I’ve not seen his name linked with Arsenal, nor have I seen fans comment about ‘like it if we signed Torres’…
Lol Rico. how do you know I haven’t seen him? ;0
He’s a good player just not worth more than £15m imo especially if we allowed the likes of Afobe who have scored 4 in 12 games in EPL to leave…
Moreover, apart from Th14, Zola and one or 2 others how many Serie A signings have flourished in the EPL? 90% flop and most Spanish strikers flop in EPL too…
Only Dutch and French strikers have done well transitioning into the EPL.
Jeez Rico, I am just asking a general question re Torres. I think he had a decent season…; one could argue he is looking very sharp for 32y.o.
I was just thinking at £5m or another loan move to us he could be a more than adequate option B for us…
I’m surprised Ts, didn’t you once suggest AW should sign Vidal for £50m and pay him whatever it takes?? Lol
My apologies Ts, I read that as ‘We fans’…
Alright, sorry I’ve been away, it’s been busy, maybe Uber have been banned (fingers crossed) now what have I missed, where’s Stan….
Obi interestingly the old believe that Serie A plays a defensive game has been untrue for nearly 8 years now at least according to stats.
Last season Serie A teams/matches averaged 2.69 goals per game, second only to the Bundesliga among Europe’s top five leagues), but there are undeniable stylistic differences between the top tiers of Italian and English football.
The season before it had 3rd highest according to 442; with Bundesliga always also being the highest.
The same way the likes of Phil Thompson and co. tell viewers the EPL plays an attacking game whilst Arsenal create loads of chances but over the last 5 seasons we have fared at 3rd or 4th and scored the 3rd highest number of goals…
“It`s what AW thinks that matters”……….dont agree Rico !…………..it`s what David Ornstein tweets what matters to me ! 😆
Busy is good Kev… Lol
🙂 LC…
Good Evening to The Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.
To buy or no to buy Morata – that is the question? I can’t say I have seen much of him, but he seems to have been third choice at Juve behind Dybala and Mandzukic. From what I’ve seen and read, it appears the he was a sub for Juve in many of his games last season. Ginge ‘The Stats Man’ will, no doubt, be able to confirm or refute this.
At only 23, I think what Arsene sees in him is potential. Also, he seems to be interesting other coaches/managers. However. that is always hard to know for sure as most of the commercial press stories are dreams, half truths, lies or the delusions/ramblings of gin soaked journos.
He seems to have all the skills that Giroud lacks (i.e. speed, great dribbling & ball skills to penetrate the opposition back line). I think I’m going to trust Arsene on this one. Does that make me an AKB?
I can remember when he signed the likes of Henry and Vieira; most Arsenal supporters were asking who the hell they were – never heard of them. Is Morata another diamond in the rough for Arsene to cut and polish to perfection? IF Arsenal sign him. we’ll just have to wait and see.
As for the likes Aubameyang, Dybala, Higuain, Lewandowsk, et al, I don’t see Arsene/Arsenal paying the money required to get them. Lukaku looks to be opting to return to Chelski. Ibrahimovic is too old for the cost of the wages alone. The Petulant Portuguese Pygmy and ManUre seem to want him, but are rumoured to offering him only a one year contract.
Other names have been bandied about, prolific players from minor leagues like the Dutch and Portuguese . As we have all seen in the past, many of these players haven’t been able to transform that to the BPL.
So. where does that leave us? Taking a risk on that second tier striker. Will it pay off?
Evening Cg.
Is Morata a second rate striker though or is he a player ready to explode in the right team?
I don’t know but if we sign him, I’ll enjoy watching him progress because he has all the attributes to be a great footballer….
Ozil may be creating loads of chances but it is obviously not helping us as a team; in my view it has less to do with our finishers at all…
If one considers that when Ozil left RM,CR07 paid him a huge compliment but since he left Cr07 has scored even more goals because Kroos, Isco, Vasquez, Modric are all creating more.
Our issue has always been due to the variety of scorers and creators in our team.
AW’s teams including Monaco has always been built around one or 2 players only.
The only times he did not do that he won trophies. Monaco with Oppong Weah, Hateley, Fofana, Hoddle won trophies. The moment AW had only Weah and then Weah became bigger than Monaco it went pear-shaped.
At Arsenal went he had Kanu, DB10, Pires, Ljunberg, TH14 etc all as instrumental we were doing well.
Fergie in 1999 had all his 4 strikers scoring double figures; After Cole and Yorke, Fergie had Wooney and CR07 scoring double figures and then later Berbatov and wooney.
How can creating chances not help us? It’s not having someone to bury those chances which appears to be the problem….
Hi Cg, a late one for you today…
Morata is a good player no doubt about it; is he prolific definitely not. imho.
You are right half of his appearances were as a sub; but the point I am trying to make which seems to be missed is that why are RM offering to pay £60m for Dybala from Juve when they have Cr07, Jesse, Vasquez and Benzema if they still owned as so called top striker Morata on loan.
They even offered Morata as part of the deal but Allegri and juve rejected the offer…
Apart from Drogba who blossomed after 23 y.o most strikers who have gone on to be prolific have always been prodigies at 23 y.o.
Is Jorge Mendes on here today? ???
Morata isn’t on loan with Juve Ts.
I think so Kev…. Or his double… 🙂
you are right Rico.
RM only had first refusal and a buy back clause.
Rico – I didn’t mean to imply that Morata was second rate. Only that he is not currently in that very small group of elite strikers. That dozen or less/so names that we supporters dream of seeing on our team list. I agree with the rest of what you said.
Ginge – I think we are talking around the same points. I see Morata as ‘potential’, much like Theo Walcott when he arrived from Sotton. Unfortunately Theo has yet to fully deliver and I don’t think he ever will.
With the dearth of top top quality strikers available and the criminal/ridiculous transfer fees they command; I’m willing to give Morata the chance to impress me.
I know Ts… Lol
Cg, I think they’ll be a lot of clubs trying to sign Morata this summer, I really do. Mourinho could be one of them….
Cg- I am with you. Just as a point of discussion as its always what Aw wants that matters imo the record of signings from Serie A to the EPL is very poor.
Also almost all Spanish Strikers have also flopped apart from one hit wonders Torres and Michu. Even Pedro flopped joining Chelsea.
If I was AW I will do a Fergie and only by a striker already harden for the EPL. If we are to go abroad then Batshuayi is probably a more safer bet; plus even Potter’s and Rico’s fave Lacassette.
buy* from the EPL
I’m having an early night guys…
Have a good evening and catch up tomorrow…
Night all..
Ginge – As we have seen, even buying BPL experienced players is no guarantee of quality or future performance (e.g. Benteke, Carroll, Torres, etc.). I just wonder if Jamie Vardy will join that list?
There have been numerous players who have had one great season or one great tournament, but couldn’t replicate that in subsequent years. I remember George Graham bought midfielder John Jensen(?) on the strength of his performance with the the Euro winning Denmark team. Much excitement on the fans part, but he turned out to be quite ordinary and a true disappointment.
Another ‘hot’ property WAS Mario Balotelli. Anyone for a cut rate Mario today?
Morata is not good enought?
Morata, we could have got him on loan a couple of seasons back, Arsene doesn’t fancy him imo.
CG, Mario Balotelli, now your talking tsgh’s language, he’d drink a cup of his bath water any day of the week lol.
Xhaka, great news, if he’s good enough for Stan he’s good enough for me.
Arsenal/Arsene are experts at transfer misinformation.
For all we know Arsene is letting it be known that he is interested in Morata, whilst actually using that to cover his real intentions as he know that the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Man Ure are waiting to gazzump Wenger as soon as he moves for his real target?
Just saying…
Lukic
Dixon
Winterburn
Thomas
O’Leary
Adams
Rocastle
Richardson
Smith
Bould
Merson………….. the rest is history!!!
Morning all,
I don’t see the problem with Spain choosing a striker who is in form and consistent in Adruiz. I think he has been very unlucky in the past not to be called up more often.
I would definitely take a gamble on Torres on the cheap/free as a back up for the team based on his recent form.
I would take Kolorov on the free too when Pep releases him as a back up wing back.
Good Morning Lovelies and Hunkies
Sun is shining here. I hope it will continue to shine on AFC during the transfer window at least
Ginge, with the talk of Gibbs moving, what do you think of Jonas Hector of Cologne? At 25 years old I feel he is the right age to take over from Monreal and be solid as well. Plus he is German as well.
And this morning I have read again about Rogic.
What do you think mates
What do Xhaka, Holding, Morata, Rogic, have in common???
Yes they are all being mentioned for AFC (Xhaka deal done).
but there is something else………
………..all of them are 6ft 2ins.
Is AW going for physical strength this time around??
It was a Friday evening kick off….
Morning Rico, Brudder and all.
Would the year be 1989 Brudder?
Dev- Jonas Hector is a solid player. I think he is the only Koln player to make it into the provisional DfB squad for Euros.
I am surprise your fave goalie Horn didn’t make the cut…
Good morning Rico and all…
Morning Lee, Brad, Adam, Devil, Ts and all….
At Anfield?
For you Devil…
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/tom-rogic-has-the-ability-to-succeed-at-arsenal-if-arsene-wenger-gives-him-a-chance-20160519-gozcyb.html
It’s up for grabs now!!!
Morning All
Morning Rico
I see that there is speculation surrounding Mesut Ozil again and the reports that he’s postponed again, alledgedly, contract discussions.
Then there’s the unsurprising report of Barcalona sniffing around Bellerin…
Ah well, I’m becoming immune to this stuff, players come and players go, nobody stays anymore, it’s modern football I suppose, agents moving on their clients etc…
If they go, they go, just replace them like for like, or as best as you can…
THAT WAS THE ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS OF AN EVENING!
Morning Kev,
Bellerin has said he’s not interested in Barca, he’s really happy at Arsenal…
Happy St Thomas’s Day everyone……!
It only took a minute Lee…!
If I remember correctly it was the absolute bollox of a weekend actually…. I recovered about the following wednesday… I think…!
Even I am surprised Ginge. But then, Germany has a wealth of talent in every position.
I like him a lot and I feel he is superior to Ches and Ospina…..but then again I doubt if he would want to play 2nd fiddle to Cech.
I like Hector and tbh I rate him as solid as Monreal, but a younger age makes him a priority imo.
Makes sense Barca chasing him because Alves is leaving.
Let’s hope that that is the case Rico, but those slimey Barca toads will work to get into his head, especially when he joins up with Spain…
I think the club have to make a difficult decision this summer re: Ozil or risk losing a shed load next summer if he postpones talks, a la Walcott…
You lot have recovered from that night in 1989???
I still have not. lol
it still gives me shivers.
and reminds me of many beautiful memories.
I think Bellerin has been left out of Spain squad Kev.
I might be wrong though
i thought he was with the under 21’s. He posted pics on twitter that looked like it.
That long Wath… 😉
New post up now..