Morning all.
When Big Sol made the move across north London he didn’t cost Arsenal a penny, not in transfer fees anyway and I don’t recall reading any negative comments about the signing. We all knew exactly the kind of player we were getting. Big, strong and hard as nails, a player who would put his body on the line regardless of what colour shirt he was wearing.
Has Arsene Wenger snapped up another with similar qualities in Sead Kolašinac?
More recently, Man Utd paid £80 odd million for Paul Pogba, a player I thought would take control of Utd midfield and tear opposing sides to pieces. As yet though, that’s not quite happened. Maybe in time he will but after his first season back in the Premier League, I don’t think there’s many who would suggest he’s lived up to his price tag.
Similar could be said over on the blue side of Manchester where Jon Stones, despite being used to the English game, has been quire average and hecdidnt come cheap.
£42 million for Mesut Ozil. A wonderfully gifted player who on his day can entertain as well as any other of the footballing greats, but off the ball, he has a lazy attitude. But because he’d been then and done it with Real Madrid, he was never going to move elsewhere on the cheap.
Torres to Chelsea a few years back for £50 million I think, a big fat flop!
Over the years, I think it’s fair to say that when it comes to making cheap or free signings, Arsene Wenger’s record probably leans more towards failures than successes with Sol Campbell being the stand out success and he’s the only one who sticks in my mind. The failures though are plenty, some of whose names still haunt me.
But that was then, this is now yet despite having a darn good reputation in Germany for his footballing abilities, Sead Kolašinac is already being written off – not by many, if any here on HH I hasten to add. As Kev said the other day, we all like a big player coming to the Arsenal because it shows ambition and we don’t get to see that enough but I’m all for snapping up a freebie too, especially when he comes with a glowing reference. Rob Holding did and Sean KOlaniac does too, albeit not from a Premier League club.
Anyway, story has it that many other clubs, including top ones, ones who could offer higher wages and Champions League football, wanted him but he chose Arsenal.
Thanks to Kick Off who very kindly supplied the data relating to Sead Kolašinac and his last few seasons in Germany.
Morning All.
Morning Rico.
I’ve not read the LG post so I don’t know what’s been written, but I like the look of Kolasinac, the lack of a fee is irrelevant as you proved with your Sol Campbell example…
If Arsenal kept Alexis Sanchez and he left on a Bosman in 12 months time, does he suddenly become a rubbish player? Nonsense!
As far as Bellerin is concerned, he has given an interview and what he said has been twisted and taken out of context.
If Barcelona are serious, then I don’t think that £45 million for a top player who will solve a problem for them for 10 years, really does it for me.
Now £60/£65/£70 million is more like it, so I reckon we can keep Hector unless either the player becomes unsettled or Barca make us an offer we can’t refuse.
Arsenal are quoted crazy prices for players so why should we sell ours cheaply?
For example, I heard Arseblog rubbishing reports of Arsenal selling Gibbs for £15million!
Instead he rated Kieran at around £6million…
Shut up ffs.
We should get as much as we can, bollocks to sensible prices, when has it ever been such for us?
Aren’t Barcelona asking £26 million for a 30 year old whose hardly played for them, now that’s daft….
Morning Kev, well said…
Morning all.
I agree, Kev!
As soon as Arsenal are linked to a player, the price tag seems to multiply lol
Let’s return the favour.
Bellerin is one hell of an exciting and long term player, so if he goes, make those bastards pay accordingly!!
Same with anyone who goes Scott, we get ripped off enough so about time we did the same.
Good morning Rico
Lovely post as usual and because is free it does not mean rubbish but it if he ends up say mediocre funs will say Le prof is same all same.
And those so called freebies they dont have an easy wage i guess and will be hard in future to off load them.
I am more kin on this tranfer who Le Prof intends to fire rather than hire.
I just saw a clip of the guy.
Naturally, clips will show the best of a player but damn, he looks aggressive and very skilful.
Could be money well spent 🙂 🙂
Morning all, really enjoyed that post!
The Bellerin comments worry me a little, i realise they can be twisted as that is the media specialty, but his family moving back and him becoming more unsettled is a worrying sign.
I completely agree Kev Re transfer fee’s though, we always get ripped off and never seem to do that back, when was the last time someone bought a player off us for an astronomical fee (at the time)!?!
Morning Alex. I’m more of a what to do with the players rather than who we sell/sign as we’ve had a squad for the last two years which could have won the league imo.
Thanks bumba. Maybe RVP considering his age and injury history. Fergie paid a lot for a final hoorah.
Bad bad deal for us though….
Bumba, look at how Daniel Levy does business, he wrings the last penny out of any suitor for one of their players.
Aren’t Tottenham talking in terms of £40+million for Kyle Walker…
That’s fecking Kyle Walker!!!
And you know what, Tottenham will get it as well.
We need to toughen up, sort contract properly, stop acting like a Sunday League team, go hard core like the Spuds and Liverpool.
Look at Everton, if Barkley played for us we’d be faffing about, not Koeman, sign or piss off.
I like his style.
AOC, Ozil, Alexis should have been sorted 12 months ago.
That’s why we need a Director of Football.
You are on a roll this morning Kev, spot on again.
Wenger has his fingers in toommany pies and apart from drawing up a list of players he’d like, first choice and an alternative, he should keep his nose out of transfers unless he’s required to..
It’s a simple process on paper but we as a club make it difficult and I’m sure previous penny pinching is now why other clubs try and get as much out of us as they can.. that and the fact they know we have plenty of money stashed…
You’d think clubs would actually cop a little less from us as we could pay up front.
Nice Rico………..that`s nice not Nice !……Nice is where Arsene and his lover Ivan are !
Agree there Scott, we have £100`sM in the bank unlike other big clubs, so what`s stopping us offering Monaco £100M in cash up front ?………………..and in a brown paper bag as well !………….just like Norris and Graham would do ! hahaha
Afternoon, still pushing good ones out Rico, fair play.
For me Kolasinac was a no brainer, looks a tough, physical player, A few reports suggesting he was one of the most productive defenders in Germany, and managed to make the Bundesliga team of the year, very flexible defensively, cost nothing. Smart business, more please.
Thanks Lc, Dublin.
I’m all for more of the same too. Just like Holding, another smart move.. shows the old boy has something left in him… 😉
When Kolasinac was link with Arsenal and for free, i thought there was no way we will get him,….especially with no C noe tgats a joke but i digressL. I have watched him played on the national level and at Club level, he’s exactly what we need. I just hope AW doesn’t coach his toughness out of him. When/ if him, Holding and Gabriel play as the back 3 we will definitely have a spine. Players willing to kick the s@#t out of other players.
Maybe he has been given the Arsenal vision chat Obi. How we are ready to go to the next level and take all by storm… 🙂
Fingers crossed……
We need another signing to liven this place up… 😉
Hi Rico
Just read the post. Think you’ve been a bit harsh on Arsene’s cheap or free signings. Kolo Toure and Nicholas Anelka cost less than a million between them and wages wise were a lot cheaper than Campbell. Even the likes of Vieira, Petit, Pires and Freddie were pretty cheap and van Persie was 3.5m. Having said that, the pound shop has been pretty empty lately!
How about inventing some rumours, Rico !…………….. newspapers do it all the time with no grounding !
After Arsene has blatantly said Alexis and Ozil are going nowhere, it`s obvious he doesn`t know what he`s talking about as you only have to look on newsnow to know he`s going to Manchester Munich and will be loaned out to Chelsea United !
Hi Bob, I couldn’t name them all who’d been a success.. lol
Those you list were cheap compared to today but back then, were they that cheap? If so, then yes, superb bargains and proved how good AW was to spot them back in the day..
I’m trying not to this summer Lc. I’m staying away from the click bait headlines as we know most are mere fabrication…
As a previous post said, he was a master of picking up players who had failed elsewhere or been injured whereas recently he has signed fit players and turned them into crocks!
He certainly was in his first ten years, but recently his track record is far from what it used to be..
Bellerin apart, off the top of my head, I can’t think of many others…
Oops, Rob Holding…
Have to laugh at the Scousers! Tsk tsk, no van Dijk for them now… lol
Night all.
Morning…
Morning all.
Is it fair to say Wenger was just ahead of his time when it came to scouting players from overseas?
Maybe he never actually declined in this ability, but wveryon else took his lead and caught up.
This Mbappé to The Arsenal is going to end up doing my head in by the end of August. Cor blimey, old Frenchie deserves to have the yank billionaire fork out the bridging finance for Henry Version 2.0. Afterall, Le Frog did work within the confines of stadium ‘austerity’ all that time, & had to just let Thierry walk out the door around the time The Club was within touching distance of CL glory.
Evening all!
Morning you two..
New post up now.
kev
Is a fare from Paddington Station to Earls Court enough to get you outa your living room? We’ll probably get the 15 minuter from Heathrow.
Big night for me in the ‘man cave’ 2nite. Cricket from Blighty; WCQ v the Saudis & AFL, & it’s still only Thursday night ?