Ivan Gazidis announced yesterday that 35,000 existing Gold Level season-ticket holders will see no price increase next season for our home fixtures, however, the Club Level season tickets, which are available to 7,000 fans and are different to GA season tickets as they cover all first-team home fixtures, will go up by an average of two per cent.
We understand the pressure fans are under in the current economic climate and hope this will go some way to helping them. Our season-ticket holders are the heart of our Club and we are recognising their loyalty by holding their ticket prices for next season.
Bizarre, why not just freeze the price on all the Season Tickets, make up for a few wrong doings this season? Still, 35,000 fans should be happier, that’s if they renew of course!
So, Stan is in town and as long as he doesn’t get lost in London, ( he’s hardly familiar with the place is he ) he’s going to be parking his butt at The Emirates on Sunday to watch his investment perform against the neighbours. Should the day go horribly wrong for our team, Stan could be in for a tough time, he’s the major shareholder, what goes on at the club is down to him.
If the score-line is not what we hope for around eighty-five minutes, wonder if he’ll try and sneak out early to avoid the abuse he could be in for.
Let’s hope not, this game is massive and we need the three points, we also need to put the neighbours back in their place and close the gap between us and them to just seven points and build from there.
Talking of building, something now of course which can only happen in the summer, Barcelona are reported to be in the running for our ‘long-term’ target Matias Suarez of Anderlecht. If we are to believe all that is written, we had talks with the player’s agent in January and all was going swimmingly well for a summer move but now that Spanish lot are showing an interest, things could change…..
We have a lot of ‘long-term’ targets don’t we, shame they don’t ever seem to be signed…
Whilst on the subject of summer signings, The Daily Telegraph have been running a poll, asking fans which area of our squad needs to be sorted out, 3 votes were permitted and this is how it materialised.
A new striker to support Robin van Persie 27.78% (3,953 votes)
Wide players to replace Andrei Arshavin and Theo Walcott 19.07% (2,714 votes)
Central midfield 25.54% (3,635 votes)
Full backs to offer back up to Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos 10.08% (1,434 votes)
Central defence 15.8% (2,248 votes)
14,230 votes were cast which doesn’t of course reflect Arsenal’s entire fan base, not even 1% of it but it’s always interesting to see what others think are our areas of weakness.
Do you agree with those you have voted?
Finally, it seems that no-one wants Nikki Bendtner – we have gone from asking £12 million for him, to offering him to Sunderland for just £4 million and they laughed at that too..
Taxi for Nicklas……..
That’s it for today, wonder if we will hear anything from Stan Kroenke…
Nah, I doubt it too……
Morning all…
Nikki B, what a waste, that is one player who should be off our books in the summer…..
stan is useless,wenger is useless and the scouting network is useless,the board is uselesss,,the new stadium that was supposed to make us compete with suger daddys is useless,,sack wenger rebuiuld highbury and tear that bowl down,,we are noiw shite because of that stadium,it was wengers idea so we can blame him aswell,,we will lose sunday,fininsh 5th and spend about 5 mil in th summer,,its a joke and im sick of it
Good morning
every week, for any kind of reasons, we speak about Bendtner…
Just a piece of info for anyone who has a google account….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2105435/Three-simple-steps-delete-Google-browsing-history–late.html
Other than that irish, everythings alright 😉
Sooner he is gone the better JM….
Morning all!
I am seriously impressed and very thankful that you guys manage to find something interesting to Post everyday, especially in these times when all Gooner a quite depressed about their club.
With regards to the Telegraph poll, was there not a selection for ‘Every area of the team’??
It is 100% Wengers fault we still have Bendtner on the books, every person that has ever watched football could see he wasn’t good enough for Arsenal. Wenger should cover his wages with the multi million pound fortune he is accumulating!!
Thanks for the Google heads up rico.
Morning UTA
Agree re the DT poll, a bit limited on choice…
We should have got shot of NB two summers ago, his ego alone was trouble, but who would have wanted him?
Hopefully some club will snap our hands off for £4million…. not sure he’s even worth that much tbh….
No probs, a bit naughty of google i think…..
Who is actually fit for Sunday, any ideas?
Evening guys.
Another well done,Rico.
Bendtner would he good enough if he put his ego aside.
Since he can’t do that,he will never make it.
Nobody will ever tell me the guy can’t play,but its hard to succeed with a size 12 boot in your mouth.
Rico,I am fit for Sunday.
Well,as fit as I can be.
Hi all
I’m with Irish Gunner, back to Highway
morning Rico , HH faithfull,
one more nail in Bendtners arse, he was shite since the days of
Adabay-urin, remember he told him how rubbish he was and he shouldn’t be playing at arsenal. How true was that. if the stinking Togolese could see it, how come none of the wenger boys couldn’t!! it’s scandoulus
Reports of Kos possibly being available.Has Gibbs picked up another injury? Other than that haven’t heard any other injury news.
To be fair Scott, Bendy could prob do a better job as back up striker than anyone else we have at the moment. But when he was here and we were playing fluently he tended to be a large factor in our intricate passing game breaking down. Don’t think he was technically good enough.
Wenger out. Gazidis out. Kroenke out. We need change. Now.
Thanks UTA/Scott – get your boots 😉
Hi Rokabox & alan
alan, we can’t do anything right now, what we have is what we have….
If he was only half as good as he thinks he is, Nik could have been quite good 😉
UTA, AW said Kos should be fit, my fingers and toes are firmly crossed that he is, we don’t want or need JD/Squilli in there….
If Gibbs isn’t fit, we should play Miquel at Lb…
UTA,as a striker though,he doesn’t,or shouldn’t,need to be involved in much passing.
He is very effective for Denmark,and has scored some terrific goals against bloody good oposition,so he can play.
Again,his attitude,cockiness,arrogance….call it what you will….will always hold him back.
Morning all, an interesting read from another site which if true shows it’s time for a change..
http://tinyurl.com/7qakl35
Morning all,
Scott, I can’t stand bendy but your spot on with your one comment, for Denmark th lanky piece of piss does indeed bang in goals and know where the net is… I’ve always said as much as i can’t stand him wenger has never played him properly yet again another one wenger keeps playing out of position, play his as a proper striker before we all shit on him and say he is utter crap…!.
That’s it Wath….he IS a striker,and knows where the back of the net is.
He has,in my eyes,always looked dangerous when coming on.
Morning Andy/Wath
Wath – it’s his attitude that stinks, big ego, and now his days are spent in court, not the best…
But yes, i too agree he is just one of a long list of players who Wenger has bought and played in the wrong position….
Oh, and ruined……
Andy – i don’t think those place wage stats are correct….. apart from Wengers 😉
Bendtner knows where the back of the net!!! you having a laugh!!!
my granny could score those chances he cocked up times and times again! he is rubbish, If I had the same chance in the acadamy
I would do as clumsy job as he has been!
He does for his country Rokabox 😉
For us, he was shocking….
Well roll your granny out then!!!!
Granny Rokabox n Bendy up front…. should be fun….. 😉
I think Bendtner future will be answer next European Cup.
Then, all scenarios can be true, depending of his performance and Denmark performance too.
So, let’s wait until July even he wants to leave Arsenal.
I think his national goals is what went to his head Rico and he thought thats why he is so good, also his Dad talking bollox not stop about how world class his son is didn’t help but us playing him on the wings was just plain pathetic…!
Anyway enough about that twat he’s gone and never to return I hope along with many others…!
Hopefully he has an awesome Euro Champs and someone comes in for him.Can’t disagree he is good for Denmark, but the amount of miss controlled through balls and crosses for us, even if he was played out of position.
Agreed!!!
Spurs will buy him…..maybe Liverpool.
Based on King Kennys evaluation system,Bendtner must be worth,oooohhhhh,around 36 million!!!
We may get lucky lol.
I just think he’s crap Wath and the sooner he is gone the better, he’s lazy, other players have said he trained the least etc etc – i’m with Rokabox on this one, i’d rather his gran played that Nik….
36million what Scott…..? Lira…..?? I’d take anyone’s hand off if we got 5million for the dimbo… least that gets his 52k a week off our hands as well….! That’s where we can save a fortune for the “wages” fund by getting rid of tons of the shit an the average players earning such outrageous salaries….! Another fuck up from the economics genius called wenger… he really should stick to running the first team and leave the rest to others within the club…!
Has his country qualified JM 😉
We won’t tell much from the Euros, they’ll be knocked out in the group stages 😉
That was just slightly tongue in cheek Wath.
Aziz, incognito from ACLF, hmm very good, now fcuk off.
Good Morning Gooners.
Good Morning Rico. Nice post boss.
Andre Santos back in light training.
Should be fit by middle of next month…
Said the other day wath, we should just sell all the cack for peanuts, make sure they are gone, the wages they are on is a joke….
economic genius, my backside….. 😉
Irish Gunner. Lets go the whole hog.
Back to Plumstead Marshes…
Night guys……enjoy your day,and the conversation.
Morning AK, that’s good news, really good news, hope this team is still in with a chance of 3rd when he gets back 😉
Night Scott…
AK, did you see the google article?
Lets hope that Bendtner is a smash at the Euro’s, then we can flog him for a decent price…
No Rico, i haven’t looked at it yet…
Don’t like what they’ve done to GMail.
Buggered it right up.
Apparantly, both Koz and Gibbs are fit…
Going to get out of gmail, don’t want them prying into my comms 😉
Good re Kos and Gibbs, the latter will face a tough test though…
Is King fit for them, and Lardy??
Ping boot was played out of position,bullshit…he is SHIT and will remain shit….ego aside
Samba and the Chavs Mikel could both be signed up by Anzhi today 😮
Just done it, spooky at how much they hold on record….
Strange at how communist Google are becoming, considering that they originated from The Land of the Free…
Almost Big Brotherist….
Need to be careful AK, those footie streaming links can be traced 😉
kc – someone once said to me, ‘at least he’s getting in the right areas to get his chances’…
shame he could take many of them eh……
We are in for a summer of fun 😛
Arsenal have added Malaga playmaker Isco and Sunderland winger Stephane Sessegnon to their list of summer transfer targets.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is set to be handed a £50million transfer kitty this summer in order to rebuild his Arsenal team after their lack of strengthen in depth was badly exposed recently.
As a result the board are ready to back Wenger in the transfer window and the Frenchman is thought to have already begun drawing up a list of targets.
One of those who he is keeping an eye on is the 19-year-old attacking midfielder Isco, who has impressed in La Liga this season with two goals in 18 appearances.
The Spaniard completed a €6million move from Valencia last summer and Arsenal could have to stump up a hefy sum given Malaga’s new found wealth.
The Daily Star has also reported Arsenal are after Sunderland’s Sessegnon, Wenger getting a first hand look at the Frenchman over the last two weekends after back-to-back visits to the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats paid £6million for the former PSG star but will want considerably more than that from the Gunners given how well Sessegnon has done since his move.
Yeah, your right Rico, don’t want Ivan knocking on my door in the middle of the night… 😀
Transfer rumours in February…. 🙄
Sessegnon!
Is he really that good?
Is he better than what we already have??
What about Miyaichi? Afobe? Campbell?
Where do they fit in??
After all Sessegnon isn’t exactly a TH14 or a Bobby Pires or an Anelka.
Just seems an average trundler to me…
but AW still in Arsenal, after this season?
Morning all,
Blame Wenger, it was his choice last summer to release one of the finest players in the history of our club, remember his winning goal against the scum at the emirates a few years back, all the best Nikki.
IF ivan knocks on my door in the middle of the night he more than welcome, we can share and enjoy a nice friendly chit chat….. lol
😆 AK
The only thing going for sessegnon is he’s had a season in the PL, but i’d rather Ba…
Maybe not JM
Hi Micko – even that wasn’t worth keeping hm for 😉
Wath, just don’t go for the face if he comes knocking 😉
Spending money is not the answer to Arsenal’s problems, and it never has been
By Simon Rice
Sport – Latest analysis on the Sporting world –
Friday, 24 February 2012 at 12:02 am
Arsene Wenger pictured during the recent FA Cup defeat to Sunderland
Arsenal fans are growing increasingly frustrated by the situation at the Emirates – the lack of trophies, the lack of quality players, the lacklustre performances.
As The Independent reported earlier this week, the Arsenal Supporters Trust are to ask some difficult questions of the club, with the greatest gripe among fans being the perceived lack of activity in the transfer market.
Arsenal regularly report huge turnovers and state that there is money to spend should Wenger wish to. Yet he seems reluctant. During the summer key players Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy left the club. They were replaced by Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun and Andre Santos. You don’t need to be a professor to know that the replacements do not adequately fill the shoes of those who left the Emirates – some Arsenal fans would argue they’re not even fit to clean the boots of those who left.
The wisdom goes that if Arsenal spent more money in the transfer market – the chances of ending what at the end of this season will be a seven year wait for a trophy will improve. It seems like a simple equation – but does it add up?
We’ve looked at Wenger’s 16-year reign as manager to see how his spending patterns have altered.
Analysis shows that since Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2005 (their last trophy), in only one season has Wenger had a net spend (money spent on players minus that accrued by sales) of more than £10m. This lack of outlay may seem strange for a Champions League team, but by Wenger’s standards, is par for the course. In the previous nine years of the Frenchman’s tenure, in only three seasons did Arsenal have a net spend of over £10m – and in two of those the outlay was less than £11m.
Cesc Fabregas was sold to Barcelona for a huge profit
Arsenal’s best years under Wenger came between 1997 and 2005 – during that eight year spell they won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. In total they spent approximately £120m, or £15m per season on new players. In the seven years since, the Gunners have spent approximately £175m, or £25m a season – £10m more per season than they did when they were winning trophies.
So, what we can see is that while Wenger is often accused of not spending during the transfer windows, the truth is that he is already spending more on players than he did during better times.
Where it gets interesting is when you compare Arsenal’s spending habits with those of their Premier League rivals. Since the 1996/97 season Arsenal have spent £315m on players and received £310.5m – a net spend of £4.5m. Over the same period, Manchester United’s net spend is £250m, Manchester City’s £472m, Chelsea’s £504.5m, Liverpool’s £204.5m and Tottenham’s £174.5m.
There are a couple of mitigating factors to these findings. For one, Arsenal switched stadium from Highbury to the Emirates – the cost of this was huge and as a result Arsenal’s transfer budget was severely limited for a number of years to make this possible, something the club has always been open about. Wenger also has a track record of buying players cheaply and selling them on at a vast profit – Nicolas Anelka was bought for £500,000, Kolo Toure for £150,000, Emmanuel Adebayor for £7m and Cesc Fabregas for nothing – all four of these players were sold for over £15m. In recent years Arsenal have regularly seen a surplus after their transfer dealings were completed.
Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry pictured in 2004
When the spending habits during Wenger’s tenure are compared to that of his rivals, that Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League every season for the last 14 years, won seven major trophies and reached two European finals seems quite remarkable.
During the Wenger years it has been the quality of players that Arsenal have had at their disposal, not the size of their price-tags, that has brought them success. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Emmanuel Petit, Tony Adams, David Seaman, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell; Wenger has managed some of the greats of the Premier League era – and he didn’t spend vast amounts of money for the privilege.
Wenger proved that success didn’t have to be bought. Whether that remains true in the future, considering the millions at the disposal of Manchester City and Chelsea, the inflated prices in world football and the growing scouting network that Wenger exploited so brilliantly, is debatable. If we are to find out the answer, Arsenal fans must continue to believe in the mantra ‘In Arsene We Trust’
The only reason Gazidas would be banging on wath’s door is to alert the police he is being held hostage !
Arsenal’s signings, transfer outlay and net spend in the Wenger era…
1996/97
Marc Overmars (£7m)
Alberto Mendez (Unknown)
Luis Boa Morte (£1.75m)
Gilles Grimandi (£2.5m)
Emmanuel Petit (£2.5m)
Alex Manninger (£500k)
Matthew Upson (£2m)
Nicolas Anelka (£500k)
Patrick Vieira (£3.5m)
Remi Garde (Free)
Total Spent: £20.25m
Total Received: £10.12m
Net Spend: £10.13m
1997/98
David Grondin (£500k)
Christopher Wreh (£300k)
Total Spent: £800k
Total Received: £750k
Net Spend: £50k
1998/99
Oleg Luzhny (£1.8m)
Kaba Diawara (£2.5m)
Nwankwo Kanu (£4.5m)
Jermaine Pennant (£2m)
Fredrik Ljungberg (£3m)
William Huck (Free)
Total: £13.8m
Total Received: £4.87m
Net Spend: £8.93m
1999/00
Lauren (£7.2m)
Niccolo Galli (£0)
Thierry Henry (£10.5m)
Davor Suker (£500k)
Sylvinho (£4m)
Stefan Malz (£650k)
Total Spent: £22.85m
Total Received: £29.03m
Net Spend: -£6.18m
00/01
Francis Jeffers (£8m)
Juan (Signed)
Edu (£6m)
Tomas Danilevicius (£1m)
Igor Stepanovs (£1m)
Sylvain Wiltord (£13m)
Guy Demel (Free)
Moritz Volz (Signed)
Robert Pires (£6m)
Total: £35m
Total Received: £31.7m
Net Spend: £3.3m
01/02
Kolo Toure (£150k)
Efstathios Tavlaridis (£600k)
Richard Wright (£6m)
Sol Campbell (Free)
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst (£8.5m)
Total Spent: £15.25m
Total Received: £4.274m
Net Spend: £10.976m
02/03
Guillaume Warmuz (Signed)
Rami Shaaban (Signed)
Gilberto Silva (£4.5m)
Pascal Cygan (£2.1m)
Total Spent: £6.6m
Total Received: £5.71m
Net Spend: £890k
03/04
Arturo Lupoli (Signed)
Robin Van Persie (£2.75m)
Jose Antonio Reyes (£13m)
Gael Clichy (£250k)
Johan Djourou (£0)
Jens Lehmann (£2m)
Philippe Senderos (£2.5m)
Cesc Fabregas (Signed)
Total Spent: £20.5m
Total Received: £3.85m
Net Spend: £16.65m
04/05
Emmanuel Eboue (£1m)
Mathieu Flamini (£1m)
Manuel Almunia (£4.5)
Total Spent: £4.5m
Total Received: £2.9m
Net Spend: £1.6m
05/06
Tomas Rosicky (£6.8m)
Mart Poom (Signed)
Theo Walcott (£9.1m)
Emmanuel Adebayor (£7m)
Abou Diaby (£2m)
Aleksandr Hleb (£11.2m)
Armand Traore (£250k)
Vito Mannone (£350k)
Nicklas Bendtner (£200k)
Total Spent: £36.9m
Total Received: £30.12m
Net Spend: £6.78m
06/07
Eduardo (£7.5m)
Nacer Barazite (Signed)
Lukasz Fabianski (£2m)
Denilson (£3.4m)
William Gallas (Swap)
Alex Song (£1m)
Fran Merida (Free)
Total Spent: £13.9m
Total Received: £30.9m
Net Spend: -£17m
07/08
Samir Nasri (£15.8m)
Aaron Ramsey (£5m)
Luke Freeman (£200k)
Lassana Diarra (£4m)
Bakary Sagna (£6m)
Total Spent: £31m
Total Received: £17.6m
Net Spend: £13.4m
08/09
Amaury Bischoff (Undisclosed)
Mikel Silvestre (£750k)
Andrei Arshavin (£15m)
Total Spent: £15.75m
Total Received: £19.3m
Net Spend: -£3.55m
09/10
Thomas Vermaelen (£10m)
Sol Campbell (Free)
Samuel Galindo (Undisclosed)
Total Spent: £10m
Total Received: £41m
Net Spend: -£31m
10/11
Marouanne Chamakh (Free)
Kyle Ebecillo (£500k)
Laurent Koscielny (£10m)
Sebastien Squillachi (£4m)
Ryo Miyaichi (Undisclosed)
Total Spent: £14.5m
Total Received: £7.7m
Net Spend: £6.8m
11/12
Carl Jenkinson (Free)
Gervinho (£10.6m)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£12m)
Joel Campbell (£950k)
Park Chu-Young (£3m)
Andre Santos (£6.2m)
Mikel Arteta (£10m)
Per Mertesacker (£10m)
Thomas Eisfeld (£400k)
Marcus Olsson (Free)
Total Spent: £53.15m
Total Received: £70.7m
Net Spend: -£17.55m)
Net spends since 1996/97…
Arsenal:
Overall Spend: £314.75m
Overall Received: £310.514m
Net Spend: £4.236m
Manchester United:
Overall Spend: £534.05m
Overall Received: £283.975m
Net Spend: £250.075m
Manchester City:
Overall Spend: £628.1m
Overall Received: £155.543m
Net Spend: £472.557m
Chelsea:
Overall Spend: £720.83m
Overall Received: £216.185m
Net Spend: £504.645m
Liverpool:
Overall Spend: £523.33m
Overall Received: £318.87m
Net Spend: £204.46m
Tottenham:
Overall Spend: £392.55m
Overall Received: £217.93m
Net Spend: £174.62m
Transfer data sourced from transferleague.co.uk
It’s not what Wenger spends so much AK, it’s who he buys with what he does spend…
Sign players who care about football, players who can do what they are paid to do, players with backbone and ‘never say die’ attitude – buy players who want to be at Arsenal because of our history and because they want us to be winners….
Players who keep going for themselves and for others around them and until that final whistle blows….
Players who won’t give up when all looks lost, players who will lead by example and not hide when the going gets tough…
Players who know that when we come up against the Yids, nothing else matters other than winning, getting three points…
😆 Micko, his head is jammed in my back door as we speak, he’s going nowhere…..
Talking of IG, he’s not in London this weekend is he? Some wedding somewhere – guess this game doesn’t mean much to him then….
He’d be in pieces Micko there would be no holding hostage at all, wouldn’t waste my time…! 😉
Weddings during the footie season, whats that all about ?
Still trying to get my head around kev’s post, that’s unreal, did we really pay 2 mill for Diaby.
£3.4 Million for Denilson
😮
The most illuminating is the comparison between Arsenal and Scum.
Scums Gross spend is £77.80 million more since 1996-97.
And for what???
The Net spend is absolutely amazing.
With the Scummers spending a whopping £170 million more after sales and signings.
And WTF for???
It’s taken them 16 years to finish above us,
well maybe?!
They have had different managers over the years AK, all of who wanted their own players in – but the managers were cack, the same will happen when Arry goes too….
Wher as we have been stuck with one …..
You know, the more i read from the pen of Henry Winter, the more i come to the conclusion the Mr Winter is an 18 carat cnut.
I believe he is also a closet Manc…
Don’t let him get to you AK 😉
Few chores to be doing, catch you later…
According to Henry Winter, only RVP would get into a combined North London team.
Vacuous scribbling. It certainly isn’t journalism.
Rico is a better journo…
One comment that sums up that Northern wanker.
Movetotheleft
5 minutes ago
Reminds me of David Lacey 20 years ago in The Guardian. He wrote that only Alan Smith and “perhaps one of the centre-backs” would get into a combined Liverpool/Arsenal team. Didn’t stop us beating them home and away and winning the league a country mile ahead of them – despite having two points deducted for beating up the Man U team on their own pitch (not for the last time).
The thing is, these hacks get paid good money for trotting out this stuff. Year in, year out. Decade after decade, the same old bollocks.
I saw that heading AK, didn’t bother reading it – we all know so much different than that twit….
Thank you, i think you meant that to be a compliment 😉 😉
I did…. 😛
Offski for a spell.
Just read this:
Why Arsenal hope copying Man United’s wage structure will help keep van Persie
By John Cross
Published 22:32 22/02/12
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Recommend (4)
Follow John Cross on Twitter
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Arsenal are carrying out a stringent review of their wage policy. It is intended to ensure “efficiency” and that every pound is accounted for in a shake-up of player contracts.
Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has flown in this week for a board meeting and new contracts for Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott, which could see both players end up being quids in, will be high on the agenda.
At the moment, Arsenal’s star player van Persie is behind other big Premier League stars, and the club realise that they need to get better value for money from their squad.
Manchester United is held up as the model as Wayne Rooney is on £200,000-a-week and his strike partner Danny Welbeck is on £15,000-a-week.
Then you have the likes of Chris Smalling who was upgraded to around £50,000-a-week last summer. Javier Hernandez is on around £60,000-a-week and Phil Jones, an England international, is not far behind.
Welbeck’s impressive season will be rewarded with a great new contract. But, for now, he’s being kept young and hungry.
The really interesting thing about United is the discrepancy between the biggest star in Rooney and his team mates. The club are prepared to pay stellar wages for stellar players.
The difference at Arsenal is that all of the squad – from Johan Djourou to Robin van Persie – are kept within reach of each other.
It is important to stress that there is no wage cap or formalised structure at Arsenal. Just a long held belief by Arsene Wenger that there should be some kind of equilibrium among players who share the same dressing room.
Thierry Henry earned the best contract at Arsenal of around £100,000-a-week plus a big signing-on fee when he signed on for one more year in 2006.
Since then, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, van Persie et al, have not reached six figures. Van Persie is on £70,000-a-week plus and Arsenal, in the current climate, are unlikely to offer him over £100,000-a-week as they try and renegotiate his contract. Thomas Vermaelen got a hefty signing-on fee when he renegotiated his deal last season.
Arsenal know van Persie likes London and has a great affection for the club, and believe they have a good chance of keeping him. Fabregas wanted to go “home” to Barcelona. Nasri would have re-signed if the deal had been put in front of him at the right time.
The truth is that for a team that is supposedly stingy on wages, Arsenal’s wage bill is sky-high. It’s £130m-a-year and is 40 per cent higher than Tottenham who do have a wage structure.
Clearly, that means Arsenal are not getting good value. And there is a reason for that. There is a whole raft of squad players – Abou Diaby, Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner – who are on great money because they have been given parity.
Diaby is on £60,000-a-week. Bendtner has never denied the story that he chose shirt number 52 as it represents his weekly wage. If they were at Manchester United (which on recent form is hard to believe) they would not even be earning half as much.
They are earning so much that Arsenal could not offload them last season. Some were shipped out on loan. Diaby was put up for sale but there were no takers, not because of injury but because of his sky-high wages.
Now Arsenal may be willing to review the decision to keep the top players within touching distance of the squad players. It also means a whole raft of middle squad players – Diaby, Carlos Vela, Denilson, Bendtner – may be moved on and new ones shipped in.
Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi was brought in for peanuts, is on relatively low wages and will be rewarded with a contract when he has earned it.
The same is likely to happen for Carl Jenkinson. He was brought in from Charlton for £1m, signed a good deal and will be rewarded for an impressive start. But within reason.
It’s similar lines for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He was signed for big money and has been outstanding and yet his wages will be kept realistic for now – rather like the United philosophy for their exceptional young English talents.
The money saved is then open to Arsene Wenger to use to reward the likes of van Persie, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott.
The upshot is that while Arsenal’s big stars get the big money to keep them happy and the young players are kept happy and hungry, the players in the middle of the squad will lose out. They won’t be allowed to sit back, not worry if they are in the team because they are on great contracts.
Look at this way: Abou Diaby has been on more more than Luka Modric this season. Incredible. No wonder Spurs want to renegotiate.
Arsenal have not been getting value for money and they are looking to change. As the club moves forward and looks to make changes, it could be a valuable weapon in the armoury to attract and keep top players.
Why Arsenal fans should bite their tongues if they lose to Spurs on Sunday
By John Cross
Published 22:30 22/02/12
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Arsene Wenger will be in the spotlight like never before in the north London derby.
But Arsenal fans should be careful of what they wish for. One of the reasons that Arsenal fans are angry, restless and annoyed is that Arsenal are behind their neighbours. For the first time in the 16 years of Wenger’s reign at Arsenal.
Tottenham flirted with fourth place in 2006 but blew up on the final day after lasagne-gate.
This time not even a dodgy portion of pasta may be enough. But just think about that again: one in 16.
Harry Redknapp is having a great season with Spurs but it’s still one in 16.
Wenger had a nightmare last summer. He knew Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were leaving and yet left it until the last minute to make contingency plans. Even then he ended up staging his own version of Supermarket Sweep.
Wenger also failed to spend big to appease the fans who are spending big on tickets but not getting big names. It’s not fair.
But you’d have to be a fool not to learn lessons from that experience.
Wenger is no fool so he deserves the chance to change, make changes this summer and lead the club forward again next year.
Arsenal will not sack him. Never in a million years. After all, he’s done a great job. The only way he’ll go is if he walks.
And if that comes from being bullied and chased out by angry impatient fans then they should be ashamed.
The club’s greatest ever manager should be afforded an exit with dignity not being chased out the back door.
So if things don’t go well at the Emirates on Sunday, Arsenal fans should remember that without Wenger they would not even be playing in that stadium.
He’s a revolutionary who deserves respect, support and backing
i know this was a few weeks ago, but it’s still a good read, for those that missed it….
The Secret Footballer: Youth players nowadays don’t know they’re born
In my day being stripped naked and covered in boot polish was what a young pro could expect, not Rolexes and gold earrings
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The Secret Footballer
guardian.co.uk, Friday 3 February 2012 22.00 GMT
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Frank Lampard, pictured in 1998 playing for West Ham, has said: ‘The lads are forgetting the hard work that needs to be done to earn this sort of lifestyle. They think they have made it already.’ Photograph: Gary M Prior/Allsport
Of all the transfer activity in the January window, Ravel Morrison’s move from Manchester United to West Ham United is one that caught my eye. West Ham are reputed to have paid an 18-year‑old, with three Carling Cup substitute appearances to his name, Premier League wages, which raises the question: is Morrison that talented or are gifted teenagers simply much harder to find these days?
On the back of the homegrown rule and the introduction of Uefa’s financial fair play rules, there certainly seems to be a premium for the very best and the top clubs have no qualms about paying it. Take a look at the £1.5m Chelsea have just handed over to Nottingham Forest for Patrick Bamford, an 18-year‑old striker who has played 12 minutes of first-team football. “We used to be able to hold on to players for a couple of years into the first team,” said Frank Clark, Forest’s chairman. “But now the real big clubs are paying fortunes for kids of 13, 14, 15, 16.”
The race to discover tomorrow’s superstars is big business and in order to find a special talent, clubs, aided by the controversial elite player performance plan, are casting their nets further afield than ever before. It also seems the best are only too aware of their worth.
At the risk of sounding like an embittered old pro, it wasn’t always like this. When I started playing, the youth-team players routinely fell prey to the senior pros looking to point-score among their peers. Many would call it “character building”. Many in the football industry, that is. Anyone else would call it bullying.
Early in my career I witnessed initiation ceremonies in which the subject was stripped naked and doused with expandable foam from a fire extinguisher or covered head to toe in boot polish before having to run around the training pitch. To illustrate how life has changed, if first-team players tried to do the same thing today, the youngster in question would probably have to remove his diamond earrings and Rolex beforehand.
I’m not advocating a return to those antics of the past but, in my opinion, it wouldn’t do any harm to bring back a few things. Once upon a time the YTS lads had to clean the first-team players’ boots, something almost everybody in the game feels ought to be reintroduced, not because it is demeaning but because, in its own little way, it encourages responsibility, professionalism and respect.
A couple of years ago, Frank Lampard complained: “The lads are forgetting the hard work that needs to be done to earn this sort of lifestyle. Not enough of them have the same dedication and it’s something I feel very strongly about. They think they have made it already.” Don’t get me wrong, cleaning boots is no substitute for talent but it certainly helps to keep you grounded and, arguably, appreciate the trappings that hard work and dedication can bring.
Years ago, kids were caught in the headlights around first-team players. They looked up to them and, by and large, respected what they had achieved to “make it”. But today that relationship has changed. There is a degree of arrogance among an increasing number of youngsters, which could be argued is indicative of society in general, although it seems strange in many respects when it comes to football, because the chances of making it have never been slimmer. Research shows that five out of every six scholars will not be playing football by the age of 21. Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, went so far as to say: “If it was a university of football, with our success rate, we’d have been closed down by now.”
Lampard’s frustration has a solid foundation, and with his club the track record is particularly poor. So far Chelsea’s academy points to John Terry as its only real success story (it is difficult to count Josh McEachran, who is a precocious talent but has started only one Premier League game), which is a poor showing for a club that trawls for youngsters so heavily.
It always amuses me when I hear parents taking such delight that their 10-year-old has been “taken in” by one of the top clubs. Should my son ever express a real desire to play football, God forbid, I would be looking at the number of players that have come through a club’s youth system, not the number of trophies in the cabinet. Knocking on the door of a club like Southampton might be an idea. Here, away from the limelight, Saints’ academy has produced, in recent years, Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Leon Best, Andrew Surman, Wayne Bridge, Nathan Dyer, Chris Baird and Alex Oxlade‑Chamberlain to name but a few.
It is modelled on Barcelona’s famous La Masía academy and run at a cost of £2.3m a year, and Southampton have now produced players valued at more than £100m. Geography generally plays a big part in where a youngster will initially start out but it certainly isn’t just the kids that are “taken in” by the big names of English football. Some parents like the complimentary tickets at Premier League clubs.
This is not to say that the coaching at the top clubs is poor, far from it. Much has been done in recent years to educate players and expose them to what is expected relative to their age. One of the best examples in recent times is the excellent NextGen series, an under‑19s tournament that is essentially a youth-team version of the Champions League. What better way to prepare the next generation of players than by exposing them to their counterparts across Europe at a key stage in their own development?
All of this, of course, is preparation for the real thing and, needless to say, the step up to the first team is a big moment in the career of a young professional, yet it is by no means plain sailing. First‑year professionals, unless they are supremely talented, are shouted at (for miscontrolling the ball or playing a bad pass in training), ordered around (by the management to get teas and food on the bus), kicked (to make the physical players feel good about themselves), and generally made to feel pretty worthless most of the time. That stops, not once they have played a few games and gained some confidence, but when the next kid comes along to take his place.
The bittersweet nature of youth development is that, whether the best way to produce the next generation of players is with a pair of kid gloves or a scrubbing brush and a pair of boots, there will always be somebody in football willing to throw money at it.
We’ve known about our wage situation for years now AK the problem is who is responsible for that shit and allowing it to happen in the first place… totally unacceptable and it’s cost us f’kin millions down the toilet that could of been used to bring in quality and pay higher salaries to the ones that deserve it… 71 paid pro’s is outrageous we need that down to about 50…! Then we may see hungry youth players not “layabouts”…!
did wenger really spend 4mil on squillaci? 71 players is a total mess,hand on heart id take 10,the other 61 are clueless
And some would say that all that Wenger deserves is the sack, not the backing of fans…..
Irish, I think if I was honest i’d get rid of about 30/40 and bring in 10 proper experienced quality players……! then when the young ones come through they get to play with older players who teach them the ropes not get thrown in at the deep end..!
Exactly Rico, who allowed adn preached those wage policies…. wenger all to keep harmony in the dressing room, what utter shit… better players deserve and should get more than players who are not as good it’s how its always been…!
Negligence of the highest order from wenger in my book, wasted millions n millions on shit to average players and now will waste more and they not even worth a few million in the transfer marker due to his excessive wages that he gave them…. madness….! lunacy even and they say he’s saved us money…! yeh right..!
irish – hard to believe some of those signings and how much we paid for them….
Wath, are all those figures near on right, can’t believe those kids only get paid £1,000 a week… 😉
Who the heck was William Huck
😮
I see Johan Djourou’s value hasn’t gone up since we bought him 😉
What have john terry and chris huhne got in common ? Neither are very good at taking penalties……..
I’ll share a taxi with Bentdner.
Afternoon peeps.
Anyone have an informed opinion as to whether this Matias Suarez chap is much cop?
Micko…………. shut the door on the way out…………………..
Micko, that’s funny, someone said to me that Chris Huhne should be the next arsenal manager…
we need three points 😉
UTA, dunno, we’ll have to see when he plays for Barca 😉
Maybe AK could sort Nikkis taxi….
Gibbs – We’ll be ready for Tottenham test
By Nick Ames
Kieran Gibbs believes that Sunday’s derby against Tottenham is perfectly timed to banish any negativity from the past 10 days.
The young left back made a long-awaited return from injury in the Champions League defeat at AC Milan and, having sat out the FA Cup exit at Sunderland, is now determined to come back strongly against Spurs at Emirates Stadium.
Gibbs wants Arsenal to use the derby as a launchpad for the rest of the season. “It’s more than just another fixture, it has something special and we can use it to put things behind us,” he told the Official Matchday Programme.
“We owe the supporters a lot – we have to hold our hands up about what’s happened in the last week or two, we know that we didn’t do what was required of us and everybody has been feeling very apologetic towards the Club and the fans.
“But this is the game in which we can overcome it, and there’s so much to lift ourselves for. We’re still in the top four in the Premier League and I’m sure we can stay there.
“Spurs have improved a lot, though, and you have to give them credit. Any team that’s in their position at this stage of the season has clearly done well, so we’re in for a real battle. All I can say is that we’ll be ready.”
The 22 year-old is as glad as anybody to see the team’s injury list shrinking, and says that sidelined players can’t help but feel responsible when they’re unable to help their team-mates.
“At one point we had so many players out, and it just hurt to see the team effectively cut in half,” he said. “It was so frustrating, and when you can’t help the team you almost blame yourself in some ways. You wonder why it’s happening, and just want to get back as soon as possible.”
off out with Fido, laters….
Glad that i sparked some debate…. 😉
Wath, 1.59;
A great question mate. I blame the lazy wankers on the Board, who should have insisted that a new CEO was brought in to replace Dein.
It was poor business sense to lump it all on Wenger, even if he wanted it.
They could have said “No Arsene, you concentrate on the team”
But as usual, Fiszman & co passed the buck….
We must remember, thayt many of the 71 professionals are youngsters.
But 50/55 pros looks about the best number….
Wonder if the 71 includes all the loanees?
AK, you got the engine running on your cab, ready for Nik 😉
Boo!! Hello, all. rico, you do have a talent for getting things going even on the most impossibly slow of news days!
Ak, I have a little shopping story for you. Back in a bit. 🙂
Also, why didn’t anyone at the club question some of the contracts being handed out?
Even if Wenger was deluded about the value of some of these players, what about the scouts, coaching staff, medical team, the accountants & lawyers who i imagine Arsenal employ….
Did nobody speak to the Directors about this?
Or are they all sheep???
Rico, the only place Nikki can have with my cab, is between the headlights… 😉
Boogie Woo Agag….
I look forward to the story….
AK, I was shopping online, and there seems to have been a system glitch, the short and sweet of it: I got a USD100 discount on a pair of shoes that I’m sure I was not entitled to. Haha. 😀
My friend tried, immediately after, to buy the same pair but the website had gone on a break; when it was up and running after maybe 15 mins. she was getting it at the regular price. I don’t know why. Checked my credit card, and I was indeed charged the lower amount. 😉 Some days, you’re lucky eh?
Howdy, rico? 🙂
I really do wish we could move the deadwood. And there’s enough of them to start a giant bonfire!!
Hi agag, all’s fair in love and online shopping !!!
Catch you all next week, i’m off to get the scalp of Arry Redknapp.
C’mon Arsenal.
Afternoon agag, that is my aim 😉
Have fun in London, Micko!!! Make sure you’re all smug and unbearable when we win. 😀 😛
Safe journey Micko, hope its a great game and a home win….
rico, mission accomplished, it is! 😉 That bit on “long-term” targets made me laugh. Do we not have an endless list of those? And we never buy them, do we??
That’s because the links to us our rubbish, or Wenger faffs around too much agag, aka Mata 🙁
Back in 30 mins, got to go feed a friends animals….
Agag, back, now to read your story
Wow, $100. That’s my kinda discount.
Not sure that they would have had my size… 😉
Never shopped on-line tbh Agag, don’t like using my card…
Also i do like the window shopping, and actually getting to touch the stuff before you buy it…
I know that the ‘discounts’ are better on-line, but i’m like Mick, a bit old fashioned….
Also, i enjoy a bit of bartering…. 🙂
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16429_7542812,00.html
Well, that simple ‘feeding the animals’ went swimmingly well, chickens were out and guess who had to round them up….
From a nearby field, thank goodness there was only three of the buggers!!!
Evening …..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17160208
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BBC say Anzhi agree £9m deal with #BRFC for Chris Samba. Player won’t talk to Steve Kean. #AFC quoted £15m in the summer.
Jamie Sanderson@YoungGunsBlog
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Arsenal’s Oğuzhan Özyakup named in the latest Turkish U21 squad after switching nationality from Holland. Loan move next. #AFC
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Koscielny, Chamakh and Jenkinson all trained as normal today. Gibbs might need a late test. Ramsey definitely out.
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Sky say Zenit have agreed to sign Andrey Arshavin on loan from #AFC. £1m loan fee. Window shuts at 8pm. Clubs doing paperwork now.
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Zenit asked about Arshavin in January but wouldn’t pay £6m. Likely to make loan move permanent in summer. Shame
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Arshavin exit opens the door for Benayoun, who was exceptional for Reserves in midweek and wants to stay at Arsenal.
YIPPEE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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São Paulo set to meet Arsenal soon to discuss extending Denílson’s season-long loan move for another six months
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An hour left of the Russian transfer window. Andrey Arshavin putting finishing touches to Zenit move. He likes deadline day drama.
AK, you busy then 😉
Arshavin going then….
Just giving MM a break….. 🙂
Bartley out for a month
Published: Fri Feb 24 2012, 6.07PM
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Rangers have revealed on-loan Arsenal defender Kyle Bartley faces up to a month on the sidelines.
The 20-year-old missed last week’s loss at Kilmarnock due to a groin injury, which is more severe than first thought.
Bartley could now find himself the victim of administrators’ anticipated cuts in staffing next week, given that he could return to parent club Arsenal for treatment.
Ibrox manager Ally McCoist told http://www.rangers.co.uk: “Kyle Bartley has a problem with his groin and he is going to be out for three to four weeks.
“It’s certainly another problem we could do without because we are stretched.
“We know that whoever comes in for the injured players will have to be on top of their game.”
Wonder if we could loan Rangers Squillaci..?
Now i like that idea AK 😛
Actually, can’t we just give him to them……
Tumbleweed……………………. 😉
I’m offski.
Everyone must be in the pub…. 😀
Nighty night.
AK, we need denilson gone, not loaned….
get him off our books…..
Rico…. Soapy time…. 😉 😉 😉
See ya boss… 🙂
Nighty AK, have a good evening…..
Think i’ll have an early one too and go watch the soaps, seeing as it’s real quiet..
The lull before the storm…
Nighty all……
Go for it Max you know you want to 🙂
Sorry wrong blog!
Confirmed that AA has left the club on loan, as per his own website below.
24.02.2012
Andrey Arshavin:
I’ve moved to “Zenit”. On loan, will play under number 29.
All the details tomorrow, when you wake up. 🙂
What’s the fecking point letting AA go now!? Typical Arsenal, it’s mustard after a meal.
yes, AW is moving to Zenith and tomorrow will be in Portugal(Algarve) where the team is. (Portuguese Tv)
his cost was 15 million in 2009….I think it was our high transfer.
Hi JM we’re letting him leave when our transfer window is closed. Guess Wenger finally acknowledged Arshavin couldn’t be bothered with Arsenal, fighting for 4th placebo or a London derby for that matter. Bull shit.
Arshavin did a Matryoshka puppet on us, every season his price tag got smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller.
Maybe Arshavin wanted to leave.
A player can only cop so much abuse.
He’s better off gone.
New Post up