Morning all.
He’s in, he’s ours and as I’ve said many times, I’m really pleased. Signing Alexandre Lacazette is a big statement by the club and across Europe, we won’t find many players with a better goal return than our new Frenchman. I know he’s unproved in the Premier League but if a striker has a nose for goal, he has a nose for goal and it matters not who he plays for sometimes. At Arsenal, he’ll find plenty of chances coming his way and once the first goes in which might take time as it did for Henry and Bergkamp, hopefully the floodgates will open. I personally believe we have finally replaced Robin van Persie, perhaps even Thierry Henry. Lacazette is quick, two footed as said yesterday and I reckon he’ll slot into the team with absolute ease. Just a shame those darn Aussies will see him play live before we here in the UK do… lol
A new club record signing as far as the fee goes but who really cares? The club we all love has hoarded their money long enough over the last few years so spending big on a finished article is long overdue. Nice one Arsene and for all the stick I give you, you clearly still have some pulling power when it comes to getting top players. Which in itself is quite interesting as many of us often express our belief that he’s past it but clearly out there in the footballing world, certain players don’t feel the same. As the player said himself to, Arsenal are a stable club and that’s attractive. As must be being located in London and the way the club usually conduct themselves.
So what can we expect next? A winger, central midfielder, a right back or a strapping no nonsense central defender? Or nobody?
One only has to look on the official site to see that our squad is far too big. There are players listed there who really aren’t quite at the standard required if Arsenal want to be League Champions again. Yes, if the club are simply happy to challenge for a top four place and perhaps win a domestic cup again then it’s fine. But we are better than that, bigger than that and going all out to become Premier League Champions again should be the soul focus this coming season.
Certain players simply have to move on elsewhere, to a club where they’ll do well rather than warm the bench at best. We all have our favourites who we believe are just a game or two away from coming good and want them to stay, I should know as Theo has been mine for years but now, he’d be one of the first ones out the door this summer if I was Arsene Wenger. I got there in the end eh but to be fair, I was blinded by the fact he once lived near me and went to the same school as me. Foolish I know!!
My list of outs is:
Debuchy, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Wilshere, Walcott, Campbell, Akpom and Coquelin although we might be left with the latter as he’s buddies with the new man. I still can’t make up my mind on Ramsey but as we all think we know, he’s one of Arsene’s favourites so I can’t see him being sold and Wilshere, well what club will want him whilst he’s injured?
We need to sell for two reasons imo. One to free up places in the squad and two, stop paying average players, or players who simply aren’t good enough to be playing for Arsenal, a big wage.
Gibbs – £60k a week, Jenkinson – £45k, Debuchy – £75k, Wilshere – £90k, Walcott – £110 (although it’s suggested he’s on £140k) Joel Campbell – £30k.
That’s £410k a week the club shell out on players who barely play for the club for one reason or another, that’s the same amount of money Alexis Sanchez is reported to be demanding in order to stay at the club, although I think that’s poppycock. I don’t think even Messi or Ronaldo earn that much do they?
That’s £410k which could be better used on a player or two who would actually bring something to the first team and let’s be honest here, not many players coming in from overseas clubs would be demanding half that amount of money each week. Lacazette is reported to be earning £200k a week with his new club which is understandable in today’s crazy footballing world because he’s a top striker who will score goals.
In February this year, Thomas Lemar was listed to be earning £2,804k a week at Monaco! Whilst I think that’s unlikely to be correct, it makes the wages here in the UK even more obscene. As does their highest earner Joao Moutinho, who’s reportedly earning just £67,308k a week.
I get big players will always earn a lot of money because that’s just how it is, but Arsenal over the years have been too quick to dish out big money to players who have seldom done much to prove they are worth it.
Anyway, sell some of the players, if not all mentioned above and pay Mbappe and one other like Lemar, then I reckon we’ll be pretty much good to go.
What say you guys?
Thanks Rico…………………………I`ll just put my last comment on here from last post, then read new post later as I have some gardening to do ! 🙂
Think Kev is right, keep Alexis and fcuk the £50M if it wins us the EPL…………………anyway, Arsene said Alexis was going nowhere and even more convincing from the horses mouth is this tweet from Ornstein and this was his last and latest on the matter ………………………………and answers Kevs question…………….
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/881125326990004225
In Ornstein We Trust ! ?
Morning Rico, good post
Good post Rico…. I haven’t gone past my Theo Walcott love yet?…..it all makes sense (the post +suggestions).
Morning all.
Rico, word has it he makes his debut in the Emirates cup, so we may miss out 🙂
Morning Kev, all.
Thanks re the post..
Bondex, I thought it was just me re Theo… lol
I read he’s heading to Oz Scott….
I heard he’s coming over, but not playing so who knows lol
Doesn’t matter-at least we finally signed him.
My little fella is going to the new kit unveiling, carrying banners on the ground before games, playing a 5 a side comp, hitting a training session with the boys, a meet and greet.
I’ll be working most the time!!!
Kids-they have a hard life these days.
Seems a seducing feeling for gunners world wide to be celebrating a new dawn. Change from our lack of ambition and a little concern for the feeling of fans will remove that poor atmosphere that has been our lot at the Emirates recently. Yes, two players have come in and suddenly the big call from all gunners rightly or not is the players to be let go. Having read some of these comments, I can’t but marvel how Gunners forget our injury experience.
Well I know that in the coming season, we will have the usual suspects – Ramsey, Wilshere, Chamberlain, kolscieny, Wellbeck, Walcott, Gibbs, coquelin, monreal, maybe ozil (because of being over played). Add this to perhaps new candidates, I begin to hope that never again will injury to players be cited as reason why arsenal did not perform this new season. We must therefore be careful and shout as loud as we can so that powers at the Emirates will factor this in this term.
Yes, the perennial bench warmers can go – Jenkinson, Debuchy, wilshere etc but Walcott, gibbs may be ne essential squad fillers that may be useful from Nov/Dec when the perennial arsenal curse sets in. My opinion.
He’ll enjoy that Scott.
DE – our big injury players are Wilshere, Welbeck and perhaps the Ox, but two out of those three should be fine for next season with rotation, rest etc. Kos, well we have a glut of defenders so he too needs to be treated carefully, unlike Santi last season.
Imo, keeping Gibbs would be unfair on him, and the team as he needs to be playing at his age, Walcott, well my hunch is he might stay just to make up the homegrown numbers…
Good post Rico, and if we can sell those players it also prepares us for next season…. but as it was said previously lets just think about now….
I am watching a taped game of Lyon and Nancy now, and although I have not been a big fan of Lacazette, I am just noticing how good a passer he is for a striker…..him, Sanchez, Ozil and Perez that could be very scarily with Giroud and Welbeck rotating….. Rico you may be right we are almost there; but there is always tactics and selection.
Thanks Obi. Agree with ‘there’s always tactics and selection’ and I think that’s where most of us are concerned. AW plays his favs too often rather than looking at who we are playing and how we can beat them. And of course with whom…
Like you, Perez still has a place in this squad imo…
Look like we open the new league fixture with a Friday night match against Leicester…
Lukaku heading to Utd then, £75M fee agreed…
Rico re Lukaku, and Rooney heading to Everton with MU paying a third of his wages…what a deal. All because they wanted to pay 64m for Morata and Real wanted 72m.
It is interesting how MU, City and Chelsea are not getting their transfer targets.
I don’t understand too Obi… Or are we missing a trick somewhere? Looks to me like the supposedly rich PL teams are playing our old cards waiting till the later stages of the TW.
Top stuff Rico.
My concern as I keep saying is what player who is overpaid at Arsenal is going to take a pay cut to move elsewhere ?……………….
We also aparrently have our maximum of foreign players allowed now we have bought The Cassette, so if any other quality foreign player is to be bought we must shift one !…………………………so lots of juggling needed by Wenger in players in…..players out and player extentions…………………………and thats with having to take the team to Scotts house for a kick about while Scotts on walkabout !…………………….Arsene needs to delegate to Bouldie the tour stuff and get stuck into the more important stuff !
Seems a really odd deal to me too Obi… Good luck to them. Not! lol
Thanks Lc. That’s half the problem eh, who is going to pay Walcott £110k a week, or £140k if that is the case…
Campbell and Debuchy would free up some space Lc..
We will see a few loan outs for the fringe players that can’t be sold.
I’d forgotten about the loan option, we don’t pay their wages then do we?
I suppose only the chinese would consider paying Walcott £110K pw, but they would expect to be able to eat him for that amount !………………………………….wait `till the Koreans come into it !…………….they will pay Alexis top dollar, but we all know what will happen to to Atom and Humber !……………………………….those Korean meatballs are the dogs bollox !
Bondex @2:15, I don’t think we are missing a trick. Since Madrid players do not want to play for Mouhrino, anymore. The guys is a nut. Just look at his transfer dealings – he lets Lukaku go but now buys him for more than twice the amount, He never wanted Morata when he was at Madrid but now offers 64m for him and wants Matic when he was the one that sold him initially. With Pep, most quality players do not want to be playing second fiddle since City is 2 or 3 deep in most positions. Conte on the other hand wants players that fit his system and given his rocky relationship with Abramovich, Roman don’t want to pay top dollars for those players and be stuck with them in 2 years when Conte leaves. Liverpool and Totts, on the other hand, are just small clubs…lol.
LC @ 2:58, you sure we want AW to “get stuck into the more important stuff”? That’s how we got here… lol. He should concentrate on coaching and tactics and leave that negotiations and more important things to others to do their jobs.
Btw, who takes free kicks now, Lacazette or Sanchez? And we know Ozil wants his share and Xhaka should be given a chance too…
Free kicks, will they all be fit and playing together in the same team or will they successionally be on the sugeon’s slab? The issue will never arise!
Very hot and humid here!
Does our full quota of foreign players include Ospina, Debuchy, Perez, it will include Giroud, so there is wiggle room…
This quota requirement of English players can be sorted by Le Cornwall & kev signing for The Arsenal. They don’t have to play as a requirement, just be part of the squad? For instance, The Club has Cazorla in the squad but he never plays. Just ditch him & bring in Le Cornwall, & the English player ratio to foreign players changes.
You make Jose sound like a desperate man Obi… Maybe he is.. lol
Evening guys..
It must do Kev, plenty of spaces to be made eh…
I`d be classed as a foreigner, GG !,………………….Cornwall was it`s own country untill us English nicked it !………………….I show my passport when I cross the river Tamar into sunny Devon !………………..although born in England on an intravenus drip of Pie Mash and Liquer, I`ve now become an inbred with a ewe as a mistress !……………….our favourite sport here is stuiffing a pasty up the rectum to try and tell which flavour it is !……………..we train every Tuesday ……when you coming down ?
Cornwall was its own country? Will I need a visa LC?
It would appear that Spurs & their supporters are starting to come down from Warhol Syndrome. They’ve had their 15 minutes of fame & are getting shirty about having to live in The Arsenal’s shadow yet again. AW should sign Kane & loan him out to some Chinese club?
If Man Utd complete the signing of Lukaku, it will leave Alvaro Morata in limbo and Real Madrid lumbered with an unhappy player.
If Mbappe is unattainable then maybe a cheeky bid for Morata could be an option?
Chelsea losing out of Lukaku could have another effect, it could mean that the Chavs make new moves for Alexis Sanchez, and we have a bidding war with Man City?
I read Chelsea will turn to Morata Kev. Just the media though..
Morning all.
Morning Rico. Mahrez at anything from £35-50 million? Really?
Morning Adam. Unbelievable really…
New post up now. An early one to catch you all out… 😉