Morning all.
Arsenal have picked up plenty of cheap signings over the years. Mikael Silvestre is one of the first to spring into my mind, Andre Santos, Sebastien Squillaci, Park Chu-Young, Manuel Almunia, Bishcoff, Kallstom and many more during his final ten years. Some he actually paid money for and yes, it’s frightening isn’t it. I get it when it comes to signing chap/free younger players. They look good, look like they might just be the real deal one day with a bit of nurturing, good coaching and guidance but sadly for them and us fans, Arsene lost the ability to do just that a number of years ago and their time with us wasn’t particularly beneficial.
So many have come and gone and while you might suggest that most have done very little since they left, well perhaps that’s because the years when they should have been learning, they didn’t and when they eventually left, it was all too little to late.
To sign a mature, experienced and yet poor player is almost unforgivable imo and Arsene did that on numerous occasions so when one of Unai Emery’s first summer signing was none other than a 34 year old Stephan Lichtsteiner for free, many a derogatory comment could be found over the Arsenal related websites. I must admit, I raised an eyebrow when his arrival was announced but as always, see him play first I said to myself.
Well if anyone thought this 34 year old Swiss captain was going to be anything like those oldies listed above then they couldn’t be more wrong. His experience was evident from the off, as was his competitive nature. Playing at left back instead of right, he pretty much stopped Man City from bombing down his side from the moment he stepped onto the pitch. Ok, he’s not the quickest but he’s far from being the slowest either and what’s between his ears more than compensates for his slight lack of pace. If he can do that well against one of the best teams in the business right now whilst playing out of position, he’s only going to be better on the right. If I was Hector Bellerin I’d be concerned for my place.
In fact Hector Bellerin is not the only one who should be concerned. Not only about their place in the team but their Arsenal future too.
Unai Emery couldn’t walk into the club and sell everyone, no more than any other manager has done in the past. He needed to keep those he considered to be the best of the bunch. There had to be some kind of stability, as he added new to the players he inherited but for a few, this could be their final chance to prove they’re good enough to be at the club.
I can’t see Emery just putting up with players in his team/squad if they don’t prove themselves. I don’t suggest that after just one game, I do so because of the previous years of underperforming. It appears to me that Emery believed there was something about them worth keeping, something in them he could improve on and between now and Christmas, he and we will find out if he was right.
Imo question marks remain against quite a few, the likes of Elneny, Ramsey, Ozil, Mustafi, Cech, Xhaka, Iwobi, Holding and Cech. Some might be tempted to add Mkhitaryan, Lacazette and Aubameyang to that list too but this is their first full season of playing together and there’s a pretty good chance they’ll only get better as the season goes on. (She types with crossed fingers – tricky that you know)
As Gary Neville suggested on Sunday, Unail Emery will need a few more transfer windows yet to build the squad he wants, just as Arsene Wenger did when he first arrived in England and Guardiola/Klopp have done too. The latter, still without winning anything with Liverpool, is now heading into his fourth season yet only now does he appear to have a strong and balanced squad. Guardiola has been fortunate as far as having an enormous kitty goes but regardless of who he signs, they don’t perform as well as they do by good luck, they do so because of him. Klopp on the other hand hasn’t had Peps kind of finances to play with, nowhere near, which perhaps is why it’s taken longer to assemble a squad he can call his own. Despite winning nothing, he and his team have reached three finals, two in Europe and one League Cup.
Emery will have money to spend, I think we can be sure of that but unlike Guardiola, I doubt he’ll be able to assemble his own squad by spending nearly £300 million in one transfer window. No, Emery and Arsenal are more likely to follow the Liverpool path and that takes time but not necessarily enormous amounts of money. In fact since joining Liverpool, Jurgen Klopps net spend is just £114,850,000. (Anfield Online website)
Overall Liverpool have invested £382,850,000, but they’ve recouped a lot in player sales. £268,000,000 to be precise with £142,000,000 of that coming from the sale of Coutinho. Arsenal don’t have a Coutinho to sell admittedly but even so, I think you’ll get the point I’m trying to make about money not always being the key to being truly competitive.
The right manager/coaches together with time and patience is essential. As is the support of the owner/board with the right decisions being made in the transfer market which doesn’t always mean spending enormous amounts of money, just the required money to get the right player.
Yes, as Arsenal move forward and Emery builds his own squad, they’ll do so with a lot of media and ex players having their say along the way. Many of whom have won bugger all during their own managerial careers.
So close your ears, shut your eyes and ignore them is my advice…
Morning Rico and everyone, as usual every two rated analysed out there has an opinion when it comes to arsenal, the media bias against arsenal is just too much ….. The media has continually been supportive of Liverpool and man city, but when it comes to arsenal I just don’t get it, I still feel Wenger over the years made us easy target.. Well their opinion doesnt actually matter, Emery is ignoring them so would I…
I believe arsenal we bounce back quicker than Liverpool and man city, we are on the path already and so far all our signings have been great.. I still set a target of top four for us and I’m adding winning the Europa league.. I just hope emery is bold enough to start lacazette and auba together on Saturday, and in midfield Matteo and torriera together… Kick them lazy asses of the team and give the young ones like nketiah and smith a chance to make the team..also drop bellerin for Stephan
Morning Mexzy, I don’t think we’ll be quick to recover from the Wenger era. Imo this season is about who stays who goes next summer, if not before in January. Stability and improvement is important I think as the new ways are implemented along with a new belief in the team. Normally we’d be saying we need to keep key players but barring Auba and Lacazette (just my own view) I don’t see many. Not counting new signings or youth.
Morning all and thank you Rico.
If this article is true then we may have to wait for more signings !
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/08/14/arsenal-face-wage-bill-squeeze-new-commercial-deals-agreed-next/
Totnumbs opening is being put back to November due to critical safety concerns……………………..the lid on the toilet shaped stadium wont shut properly !
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Good morning Rico and others.
It was evident from the way Walker chose not to go up against Lichtsteiner, as he had against Maitland-Niles, that there is something about our new right back which demands respect and induces a little fear in the opposition. He might just be what we have been missing at right back since the departure of Bacary Sanga.
Man City are a great side, of that there is no doubt, but they are also a dirty side when they need to be.
Walker ‘did’ Maitland Niles, Laporte ‘did’ Ramsey early in the game, Sterling got away with a string of offences, Aguero can ‘put his foot in’ (interesting euphemism for kicking someone), Otamendi, Delph and of course serial offender Fernandinho can all put it about. They aren’t no pussy cats.
Lichtsteiner can live with that behaviour, but can Bellerin for example or Ramsey or Mkhitaryan?
We are still too nicey nicey, but that can’t be changed in one window or even three.
As you say Rico, we can’t (or won’t) go down the City model of finance choosing to follow the American owned Liverpool example, and the whisper that we need to sell to bring down the wage bill is also interesting.
Is this just an example of KSE economising because they are tight or are we preparing already for January and moving into the transfer market as we did last January?
I did notice that Rabiot has refused to sign his contract at PSG, so the Parisiennes (?) might move him on as we may with Ramsey during the winter window?
I don’t understand why our wage bill is a problem, surely City and Chelsea pay more than we do.
Morning Cicero.
Agree re City Kev, Sterling should have been off and one of their other players escaped an early booking. There are so many reasons why the game on Sunday could have been so different but hey, it’s all Emery’s fault for playing out from the back..
Shock horror, I actually read an article this morning where one of the football people interviewed said Sam Allardyce was bang out of order knocking Emery after one game against the leagues best..
Morning all.
The wages issue may well be a demonstration to Ramsey in particular but the rest in general that the club will not pay the ‘new inflated rate’ and do you know what’s? I agree with them. The level of pay for even the top top players has become obscene! Ozil I think may well find he is being shown the exit as the club may well feel that he is no longer good value for the money he earns minute by minute.
In the long term it would seem that we are not going to pursue the creme de la creme of the footballing talent because we will not pay them what their agents think they’re worth. I suspect they are going to put their faith in youth and we do have a few very good ones! Or are they just being cheapskates……..again?
Are the Board turning Dick into their Wenger clone? You have to wonder, in any event it seems to be a bit of a statement of where our future lose. Not in the top three or even the top five! Seemingly they are showing no ambition and that will be supported by a severe lack of cash. Kronke won’t be dipping in his pocket simply because the club are probably going to have to pay off his debt to Usminov, £475m was it, he borrowed?
Cloudy here and a bit breezy, not cold though.
Lose = lies
If so re Ramsey Wavy, good. There’s no way he deserves a massive pay rise, not imo anyway. The club should learn from the mistakes they made with Ozil.
Good thought`s there, Wavy, nearly as doomy as me !……………….
🙂
Just off the top of my head and linked to a link I put up yesterday about some teams in theory still being able to make a profit from a half filled stadium……………………when we first started at The Ems it was said that we make £3m per game and along side FFP was going to take us to another level, but that figure now is now second to the TV income…£142M last season (this season ?) which all teams get (within a few million or so ), so we are basically on an even kiel with every other club………………except the Big 3 who dwarf us in riches from their owners or in Man U case, their revenue for being the biggest club in the world !
As far as I know we pay the 4th highest wages, but thats the point Rico, 4th is no way near what the 3 above us can pay !………………………to have the best players is not always about how much you purchase them for, but how much you pay them. We could have bought any of Man Cities players, but not pay the wages City offered .
Spuds will find all this out with their new shit hole, costs have doubled to nearly a £B and the money coming in will not be as great a difference as to when they first thought about a new stadium……TV money has done that. As I`ve said before, West Ham got the deeal of the century at £3M rent per year all inclusive.
Only difference will be now among clubs regardless of their stadium income will be having owners of City`s level imo.
Imo the odd team may win the league, but the 2 Mancs will be running the show for a long time.
Hi All:
Good read Rico. The Liverpool models is interesting because they also own the Redsox and spend a boat load of money to complete with the Yankees. They dont mind spending, I think it was just a matter of time before they would spend, let not forget they got a lot too with Saurez.
I know its only one game, but I agree with Mexzy about the selection. When I saw Emery’s selection I thought Wenger was back. I was actually expecting a thrashing. Most of us would agree that a team with Ozil, Ramsey, Xhaka and Bellerini against City make you ponder when there are better options. But let’s just hope that Emery was prepare to lose the game so he can bench some of these lazy over hype players. No one thought he had a chance to win anyways…..
I have to disagree with a point being made……………….we do not follow the Liverpool model, they follow ours !…………………when the Liverpool owners were buying the hub cap stealers they came to check out Arsenal and how we were run self sustainably and they liked what we were smoking !
Ozil should have left. I think it creates problems in the spa and is not well regarded by the team.
If we put Bernardo Silva instead of Ozil, by the way, besides being more economical, the results were certainly others. And the joy of the team too.
They did not want to hear me when I told him to get him to Monaco. Now it’s too late.
Thanks Obi, Suarez was pre Klopp though wasn’t it?
Took me ages to find it but this is the gist of it……………….
Henry and Werner went to Arsenal last month to watch a game and discuss the way the club was run with Arsene Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
While they were keen to stress the differences between the two clubs, the North London club’s recent history (the move from Highbury, the inflation of matchday revenue) is an impressive example of modernizing a football club.
“I don’t know if they are a model,” Henry said. “It is a completely different situation but I am a big fan of Mr Wenger’s. He’s a brilliant guy. We are big fans of their organisation.”
Yes Rico, Klopp came a season after Saurez, but they still had the money from the sale.
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How ever much some may not want to hear it, Ozil will be around for quite a while yet. His wage demands, £300,000 + per week, will put off all but the Chinese.
He can stay at Arsenal and will probably retire at the end of his present contract, he will be thirty in October.
Just on newsnow !…………..Lost prehistoric sites in England have been revealed by the recent heatwave……………..VCC found a receipt for the last time he bought a round of drinks !
Did they not make any signings that same summer though Obi, when Suárez left in 2014? Klopp didn’t join Liverpool until October 2015.
Matters not though really, my point was just that under Klopp, Liverpool haven’t spent much more than us, not net wise anyway..
Afraid not Cocker. It was a fake. hahahahahahhahaha
Le Coq, the voice of doom…
Thank you Kev !…………………it suits me well and has a nice ring to it !
🙂
I was known as it on Bergkampesque way back in a day and after all these years I was right back then, just like I will be in the future when I look back on my comments of now !
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Ospina close Naples
Morning guys, what a horrid one it is to as far as weather goes…
Good morning Rico, horrible morning? It’s rain! My lawns are lapping it up. They are slowly turning green instead of Sahara sand.
Morning Cicero, we’ve had enough rain here, I’d like summer to return now as the lawn needs mowing… 😜
New post up now..