Morning all.
Rumours in the big wide football world hint at Olivier Giroud agreeing a contract extension together with a pay rise. £130,000 a week is the amount quoted.
But is he worth it?
Theo Walcott is rumoured to be after £120,000 a week (although some reports he only wants £100,000 a week) in order to stay on for another few years.
Is he worth it?
Ollie:
He moved to Arsenal in 2012, he’s 28 years old, soon to be 29 and in his 97 appearances, he’s scored 41 goals. Hardly great goal scoring stats but what can’t be denied is the work he does off the ball. He’s a big guy, he’s not very quick and for him to score more goals, the ball has pretty much got to played to his feet, or on his bonce.
Theo:
He moved to Arsenal in 2006, he’s 26 years old and should be at or close to the peak of his career. Unlike Ollie, he’s quick, very quick and in his 208 appearances, he’s scored 50 goals. Unlike Ollie, Theo doesn’t work very hard off the ball, well he hasn’t over the years but I’m convinced I saw him tracking back and defending against Everton last weekend. It was him, honest, I studied his movement as I was quite shocked with what I saw. Perhaps the ‘Alexis’ bug has finally caught up with him!
We can’t really compare the two when it comes to goals scored as Ollie has always played central whereas most of Theo’s goals have come whist playing out wide but as we saw last weekend, give Walcott a clear-cut chance and he’ll take it. Both however have been guilty of missing sitters during their careers. But then many footballs do, even Aguero has been known to miss sitters, albeit not very often!
Walcott has made it quite clear in the past that he wants to play through the middle, but then so does Danny Welbeck and Chuba Akpom but all three can’t have their own way, not all the time.
Theo Walcott:
In modern-day football the three up front tend to change around a lot. You see it with England and with Barcelona, so we have that sort of trust in each other knowing that everyone can do that sort of role. It’s not a problem at all.
I like it anywhere. I enjoy playing for this club. It’s well-documented where I want to play but there’s a lot of competition in that front line. If I’m in a role then I have to do my best there, but it’s another option for the manager. It’s not a bad thought.
We saw quite a bit of that movement last Saturday and it certainly paid off when Walcott scored, in fact he should have had one or two more goals too but perhaps he’s saving those for another day. But that movement and positional interchanging is not only good on the eye, it keeps the opposition wondering and we all know what great success it brought us years ago when Freddie and Sir Bobby were all over the place, it made great viewing.
Alexis, Theo, OC, Silva, Gnabry and Akpom are all quick on their feet so whoever plays can give us speed and movement on the pitch. Ollie, well I’m sure he’ll continue to do his best but he’ll never be a whippet, he’s not built that way but if we give him the right service, he’ll always get us goals. Then it’s down to the others to chip in…
As for the new contracts, I’ll leave that for the comments section….
Transfer gossip:
Italian giants Roma are in negotiations with Arsenal over a season-long loan deal for Wojciech Szczesny.
Arsenal are trying to sign Sergi Samper from Barcelona. The 20 year old defensive midfielder currently plays for their ‘b’ side.
Benzema rumours rumble on!
If Arsenal can’t sign Benzema, then a ‘mystery striker’ deal is on the cards according to the Irish Independent.
Julian Draxler is back in the headlines too, although Juventus are reported to be interested in him too.
That’s your lot, have a good Wednesday guys..
Thanks Rico, I was online last night when the Giroud contract stuff started. The first source I saw was Metro, followed by Squawka. Both are pretty unreliable and cited unnamed sources. Today everyone is re-pressing that story. Im calling total BS. Yes, he signed a new contract, but bollocks its for 130k/w
Why bollocks?
Arent Ozil and Sanchez on ~130k? I believe noone else is over 100k at Arsenal
What has Ollie done to deserve 130k? ie he is good but not a super star and no other team would pay that.
What of the reports of Giroud agreeing a NEW 80k per week deal in the Independent last year? http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/olivier-giroud-arsenal-and-giroud-agree-new-80000aweek-contract-as-arsene-wenger-keeps-the-faith-in-injured-striker-9764105.html
Good read.
Morning Roger
Rico- I gave you a link detailing Euro based players salary a few months back.
OG12 was earning circa £65k.
Morning , Interesting post, I.ll start by saying, Theo Walcott will never be our 1st choice centre forward. Although I agree with a lot of what Rogerbij says, and Giroud probably doesn,t deserve 130,000 a week, the fact is in the current market, any 1st choice CF, in a champions league team, should be able to demand that type of fee. Unless Wenger brings in a better C.F.
Morning tsgh, I would love that Euro salary link. Is it at your fingertips?
Morning Roger and all..
I think £130k a week is BS too just as I think TW asking for £120k is…
Kev wouldn’t get out of bed for that salary p.w…..
Am i right in saying we,ve agreed a 4m, deal with gala, for Flamini. If so WOW.
Thanks Ts, I don’t have that link any more…
Thanks Dublin, I’m not really up on player wages but I doubt a club like ours would pay either player over £100k a week and even if they did, my own view is that Walcott has more of a chance as he’s younger…
Morning All…
Great post, Rico…
Let me say that I don’t give any damn how much a player’s contract is worth…all I’m interested in is making sure any player deserving of it gets his contract extended…and right now both Giroud and Walcott deserve such…
Rumours are his off Dublin… Think it’s euros though… lol
Fair enough Tai, but consider that player salaries are the biggest budget line for the club, and when these are overly inflated that has a knock on effect for
a) the amount of money available to make new transfers
b) the amount you can offer those new players
c) whether you can sell on players elsewhere that are surplus to requirements (because if they cant get a similar contract they may sit out their existing contract).
Arsenal wages are ~54% of turnover: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/01/premier-league-accounts-club-by-club-david-conn
Thanks Tai..
Read an interesting quote, Arsene Wenger is going to get money for selling a guy who has never been sold for money.
Have to say I,m glad Ospina stays, it would have been an injustice to let Ospina go, without given a chance to prove himself.
Good Afternoon Lovelies and Hunkies.
No news on NN. So we have to thank the Almighty for having Rico who despite everything gets us ticking daily with a good one after the other. Well done boss.
So AW has managed to do something no one (even himself) have never done before….and that is get money for Flamini. once bitten twice shy and this time AW has grasped the situation and is in line to pocket 4million from Gala for MF. and if he gets Samper for 8.7 than the latter, a 20 year old, would have cost a mere 4.7million. Good piece of business. But I still think that AW will get YG to play in a holding role.
With regards Ollie just cast your mind back to when he was missing last season. We functioned as a team when Le Coq came back and Ospina was made keeper. However when Olllie came back he soon showed how much we missed him. and remember that the amount of goals increased when he came back. So yes imo he is warranted an increase however not on the same level as Alexis or Ozil.
With regards Theo it depends on which side you are on. If you see Theo as indispensable then fine, he must get his increase. but if he is not than he needs to show it more to get an increase.
I couldn’t believe that re Flamini, what a guys eh! Not that any of his Bosman moves have been about money….
I just think re Walcott, 8 ,9 years at the club, surely if Wenger had any serious thoughts on him playing centre forward, he would have done it by now.
This transfer window will say an awful lot. If he brings in Benzema, which could be likely now, as reports are saying Madrid are talking to Reus, or any striker, Walcott should finally get the message.that Wenger doesn.t see im as a C.F, Whether Theo sticks around after that, Who knows.
Walcott quote gladdens me…there’s nothing I love more than movements and interchanging positions on the pitch. The front three movements on and off the ball will make any team very dangerous and difficult to track down.
And talk about front three movements, I believe that Ox-Chamberlain is the nearest to Sanchez. The ex-Southampton winger may not match Sanchez’s goals yet but he’s still growing…
why the downplaying of both Giroud and Walcott, why not actually make there stats clear, that you are referring to league games only, and then too that the figures are overall and not just starts.
Giroud 81+16 league games 41 goals, total 105+29 games 58 goals
Walcott 132+76 league games 50 goals, total 192+110 games 76 goals
its a good job Dennis Bergkamp and Freddie Ljunberg played for us before the days of high speed web access and twitter etc etc
Bergkamp 253+62 league games 87 goals, total 345+78 games 120 goals
Ljunberg 328 (285 starts, 43 as a sub) Goals 72
some reports re flamini leaving state that Arsenal will be paying Flamini the entire transfer fee to leave – paying up the year leaft on his contract – some reports say that to cut out the hassle AFC will let him leave for free and Galatasary will pay Flamini the fee as a signing on bonus.
Might be why Theo has recently said he doesn’t care where he plays Dublin and that he just wants to be a part of this great group…
Eduardo, where in my post have I downplayed either player?
My tally was from Wikki, write to them if they have got things wrong in fact I don’t know why you don’t start your own blog so you can get things perfect every day as all you do each day is come on here and pick the bones out of any comment which you happen to disagree with!
Morning all.
As much as I like Giroud, I’d be amazed if he shopping 130k a week.
I’d suggest 80-90 is more likely his worth.
Flamini….I don’t care if we give him away, to be honest.
He has nothing else to offer us.
Spot on Eduardo.
Roger, I don’t have the link at hand…
I will post it over the weekend when I get home..
I might the accuracy of stats not context…
Me neither Scott re Ollie and tbh, I can’t see him being the kind of guy who would ‘demand’ such a salary…
meant*
Where’s Steve Palmer?
Good read rico ……..I really like benzema but I’m a little worried about his mental toughness as I believe it required in this league(ozil had similar problem before he adjusted) I might be wrong though
Hey Snap.. where have you been?
What do you think of Gueye joining Aston Villa?
Thanks Devil, thank goodness the official site gives a few ideas… 😉
Arsenal Arsenal Lee…
Thanks Snap, I’m still not convinced we will get Benzema, smokescreen maybe…
Ts, I bet Villa fans are thrilled:
After shining in Ligue 1, Senegal international Gueye now hopes to do the same in the Premier League to earn a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“I wanted a change of scenery,” he said. “The most important thing was to come to England to improve and aim for a big club later.
Yes :D. Rico. Players these days. AW was looking at him before but AFCON might have been a concern.
Gueye is a very solid CD/CM imho. I think he is a very good buy. He isn’t big though so might not have gotten your seal of approval. 😉
Yawn Ts ….lol
I’m off, catch up later.
I don’t like getting out of bed, period… 🙂
Is Giroud worth 130000 I don’t know but it’s usually said that if you have a striker who scores 1 goal for every two games he is world class.
Giroud’s rate is just below 2 and half games per goal so he’s not that bad a striker so maybe he is worth it.
Just in case…
allo mrs adam how are u today I hope you dont get two angry wiv mee… 😉
Yeah, where is Steve Palmer these days?
Lee, I gotta say, that that was a thoroughly agreeable evening we had…
Can you remember Kev or were you prancing around old compton street in ya spandex strides again signing “ymca”
An Aussie keeper has signed a 6 year deal with Valencia.
Matt Ryan is the lad in question.
I said on here a few years back if he was 3 inches taller, he’d have already been in the PL back then at the age of 19-20.
Sensational keeper, but barely a 6 footer.
Lee, Wenger wouldn’t get out of bed for 130 grand a week either !
I know Micko………..criminal isn’t it?
mmm, Very strange, Giroud,s deal, why if he signed a new deal worth 80,000 a week, last september on his 28th birthday, that keeps him at the Emirates till 2018, would the club offer a new deal for 130,000 a week, just does not add up.
Kev. No problem at all mate. 🙂
It was a splendid evening for sure. The tube journey home however was horrible. Hot and crowded.
Afternoon folks..
Kev, your 2.07 has given me an inkling of the conversation last night…
Rico. A broad range of topics came up for consideration and were interspersed with uproarious laughter. Just like a good meal with friends should be. You would have loved it. 🙂
Adam, I should have ended with a 🙂
I can imagine the three toads roaring with laughter and full of naughtiness… Lol
Have you got over the shock Adam? 😉
Rico. I must confess that I rather like it. 🙂
🙂 Adam, me too…..
I’d like to stroke it. 🙂
We’ll leave it there Adam… 😉 😉
Rico. 🙂
Who are we signing then Adam? Lol
You didn’t want to stroke me…..
🙂
Just catching up with a Disco Dave Lee, he’s not that far from you is he? 😉
Perhaps Tony Adams could save him…..
Evoening ull
Seems like Iwobi is Wngers plans, I’m not at all surprised….
Henri Lansbury banned from driving for six months for speeding…. I miss him… 🙁
A bit of TV calls me, night all….
Good Morning Lovelies and Hunkies.
for the benefit of those who did not see the last two games here is the one vs Singapore…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxiybXMEj9s
And here is the one vs Everton……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg1Ege5zPgw
Morning dev thanks for the vid………I didn’t really catch the Everton game
Morning Rico. I had been searching for the vid since the game. today they popped up. there were vids with the title of the game but then crap followed. but today I managed to find one at last. and since I knew there were some who did not see the game I posted them.
Morning Rico and all…
De Bruyne to Shitty for £60m. Wolfsburg must be laughing; I hope Chelsea are not gonna get a cut of that fee. 🙁
Good vid Dev.
Some of the ‘off the ball’ movement was sensational.
I see the chavs lost 4-2 to Red Bull last night.
Bergovic had a bit of a nightmare yesterday, so I’m hearing?!?!
Kike Marin tweeting if Benzema doesn’t happen option two is Lewandoski…..I’d have the latter over the former! But the bollocks these fuckers spout is unreal….
Can’t help but think watching Disco Dave and Co. is geared at ‘persuading’ folks and underpinning the false believe that hand-outs are a way of life for some many people.
None of these programme addresses how/why the 5th or 6th richest country in the world has 68% of its demography receiving some form of welfare at one time with under 8% going on jobseekers and the so called hand-out.
Bergovic did…
Kike use to be reliable but AW’s cards are now so close to his chest even the likes of Grimandi and Francis Cagigao who normally may leak a word or 2 to those in the know are drying up…
The beach at Jaywick is lovely unfortunately the residents are really really hideous….
33 cans of cider a day habit or 2 to 3 litres of vodka a day habit who’s funding that?
Never been to Jaywick but did street view and ordinance map view and it looks quite beautiful..
Even putting aside the growing gulf between the ‘oks’ and poor, it saddens me to think that even for a huge portion of society having been born in this pleasant country with all the opportunities of free education and some form of apprenticeship has not deterred them from living a life left behind in the Victorian ages. The only difference now is that they have 38′ flat screen TV’s to occupy them until the next payment…
Morning Devil, Snap, Ts, Lee and all..
I wondered the same last night about the fundings for the booze, and the fags!
Beach is beautiful as for the rest, nothing that a bulldozer wouldn’t sort out… 😉
Residents have asked Royal Mail to remove any reference to the estate from their address because it drags down their property prices.
lol Rico.
Not forgetting cirrhosis of the liver and the cost to tax payers…
Property prices in Clacton will fall on the back of the programme.
Kev has stopped his Peroni habit….
Aldi cider is good…. Apparently!
I like Clacton, good time to buys then….
Isn’t Jaywick where Wath’s bootleg distillery is? lol
Do we have a version of A.T.F in uk? 😉
Frinton is a lot nicer Rico….. trouble is it’s like God’s waiting room there, the shop windows are all bi-focal and there’s ramps everywhere!
Sounds ideal for me then Lee… 😉
They have a strict N.S.P so you are knackered!
Morning Rico, Brudder and all. We have a lot going for us in the UK but lack the political honesty and will to confront what is really happening. As the generation that got us through WW2 are no more there is no appetite to look at our problem society as evidenced by the impending appointment of that tosser Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. As an Islington boy who likes change and is fascinated by society’s cultural development I see lots of good things but I have never known so many scumbags, criminals, morons and leeches. Music, art and literature where are you?
lol. Throwback Corbyn
TS. Exactly. After taking a kicking in the election, who could believe that Corbyn is in any way relevant? An even more pathetic Labour Party is bad for the country regardless of where your sympathies lie surely. We need a credible opposition don’t we?
NSP? As long as there’s no NDP, I’ll be fine… 😉
Morning Adam.
Well said Adam.
All the way back to 1983. lol. What a joke.
Putting aside any political tribalism, anyone with an ounce of social conscience should be calling for
a credible opposition as you have surmised.
No matter what one’s pay packet is now, the thought of Gideon the towel folder having a clear run to the finish is a worrying thought.
No Skinhead Policy… 🙂
Blonde moment!! Just caught on 😛 😛
Surely BM wouldn’t sell Lewandowski?
BM are going through a form of re-organisation like in 2008/2009 when Klopp came in and won 2 conservative titles.
I wonder how Pep will fare during this period outside of the 1 horse race Bundesliga.
New post up now…
Lol. Has anyone tried the new Doctor Apps’ being advertised on TV?
Probably all the designs of the Bullington Club probably.lol