Morning guys.
“It will be a loss for Arsenal. I must say it will be an interesting move for Ramsey. He is a player who is great going forward. His main quality is he can keep the final ball and he makes interesting runs from deep.
“You don’t find many players today who can make midfield runs off the ball. It will be an interesting addition for Juventus.”
I’m sure you’ve already seen the comment above. From Arsene Wenger no less. He can’t help himself can he? He loved telling us how he’d turned down offers from other ‘big clubs’ to stay at Arsenal. He seemed to get a thrill from announcing how he could have signed player x, y and z when the player in question is at the top of their game and even just a few days ago he mentioned Sancho as being one of them. I recall the time he sat with old red nose, post rivalry of course, and they were discussing Christiano Ronaldo and how Wenger came really close to signing him before Utd did. Wenger said the deal wasn’t far off to which Fergie said some like, just a few noughts… Sounds about right doesn’t it? I’m sure if we were to count up the number of players he ‘nearly signed’ during his twenty two years at Arsenal, they’d be enough names for an 11 v 11 match.
I know he’s gone and all that, just as I know he was probably only answering a question put to him about Aaron Ramsey but if he thought the Welshman leaving would be such a huge loss, why didn’t he sort out his contract with the club when he had the chance? Summer 2017 was the time, whilst he and Ivan Gazidis had the time. They should have thrashed out a deal during the closed season and if Ramsey was as keen to stay as he’s making out, he’d have signed it there and then. If the deal wasn’t acceptable or any suggestion was that he wouldn’t be staying, then he should have been sold. Same goes if his career was in any way attached to Wenger’s. Then there was another opportunity during the winter transfer window but again, his contract rolled on into its final year. Then came the new contract offer, or that’s what we’re told and yet he didn’t sign it then either. He would have had he really wanted to stay but no, he’s a gonner not a gooner. Will he be a miss? I’m on the fence on that one.
The same goes for Mesut Ozil, and Alexis Sanchez. Had neither players contract been allowed to drift into its final year, a) Ozil wouldn’t be holding all the cards now and b) Mkhitaryan would be playing his football somewhere other than north London. £180k a week we’re paying the latter. Both players are 30 years old, both almost impossible to shift.
Call me an old cynic but it’s funny that we’ve not heard much from Wenger since he left in the summer. Until now, when not only are performances poor but we’ve just been beaten by BATE, a club one of his second string teams beat last season 10-2 over both ties.
That’s what happens in life though. I don’t know why but it seems the phase ‘I don’t want to say I told you so, but……’ Or the ‘be careful what you wish for’, or simply the gloaters who just love to sit with a smug grin on their face when something isn’t quite as good as when they were doing it…
Anyway, I didn’t really buy that car. I was a few noughts short with my offer..
Have a good Monday guys.
Morning all,
Hi Rico,
I doubt we will ever hear Wenger disrespect the club, and the fact Ramsey announced his departure the same week we lost to Bate is purely coincidental, even Wenger doesn’t control the draw of the Europa League, and explains why he’s discussing Ramsey’s announcement this very week.
I wonder what a few noughts would do for us right now.
We could’ve used them in January 🙂
Morning Rico. I think Arsene has maintained a respectful silence since his sacking. He has resisted the temptation to comment too frequently and that’s a good thing. Since the Arsenal wheels began to separate from the axles he must have had plenty of thoughts though.
Lovely car Rico. Your colour too 😃
Morning Adam, Scott and all.
I don’t know, a part of me thinks he’ll enjoy watching us struggle. I hope I’m wrong but…
I thought it was nice too Adam. A bit low to the ground for me though. 😜😜
Rico, i think he might be comfortable with the fact that we now know we didn’t have this massive war chest that he was sitting on.
He’d be feeling for Emery, I reckon.
I don’t think we know that for sure just yet Scott. Maybe all will become clear after the summer. I say that purely based on our reported wage problem which could lessen in the summer.
Good morning all,
You’re quite right Scott, Wenger is surely feeling sympathy for Emery, after all he knows all about presiding over a limp squad, foisted on him by a board of skinflints, and not being able to get anywhere near the best out of them. Precisely what happened to him in the second half of his tenure at Arsenal.
Poor old Emery has had to cope with not only Wenger’s hopelessly unbalanced squad but also his legacy of inability to keep up to date with his player’s contracts and the ludicrous situation surrounding Mesut Ozil’s wages.
Ozil, by the way, is not training at this moment he’s taking a break in Turkey.
Apparently Arsenal are going into the production-line business as far as young footballers go. Everybody is for sale basically. Get them in the academy, farm them out on loan to get them in the shop window then sell them.
Sun’s in full splendour here and would bring out that red paintwork beautifully Rico.
Too low for me, need a winch to get me out I reckon but it’d make a great snowplough to clean my drive………!!
Nice article – are you a journalist? Your secret is safe with me….honest.
Morning everyone.
Aubameyang is also enjoying a break away apparently Cicero..
Seriously Adam?
Afternoon Gooners
Afternoon Rico.
I’m not really a petrolhead myself, but I know a man who is… 😉
Apparently the Glaziers have taken in the region of £1b out of Man United during their ownership of the club, without spending any of their own money to pay for the debt they loaded onto the club in the first place, nice work if you can get it.
By comparison Enos looks an absolute saint.
Ha ha Andorra, not a journalist though, I’m too nice… 😜
Afternoon all and thanks Rico.
Although I think we were quite fortunate in the 21(?) unbeaten run and playing some of the shitest football in years we are statistically 5 points better off than last season at the same stage !………..whats not to love ?
🙂
Warm here again and as I was parading around with my glistening abs a neighbour said that her washing machine had broke and asked if she could use my abs as a wash board !………………ever the helpfull neighbour I agreed and weirdly a few other neighbours also had the misfortune to have washing machine failures whilst their husbands were at work ! 😆
Nice car Rico, bet you wished you could drive that car over my speed bump abs ! hahahaha
Afternoon Kev, who is Enos? Lol
5 points better off Lc, we’ll thats progress…. lol
Rico. Absolutely. Spot ‘em young. Bring ‘em on. Bosh ‘em out. Twenty mill plus and they dont need to be established in the first team. The Chelsea model.
Wenger is speaking at The Laureus Sport for Good Awards today and has been in front of the press announcing awards and doing interviews in the build up over the last week. That’s why snippets of the interviews have been appearing in the press.
Here’s the link to some of the press conference.
https://youtu.be/T6iftLtSyfo
As for Ronaldo the story has been well covered. Wenger had spotted Ronaldo at a youth tournament. He had had lunch at Ronald’s house with his family. Ronaldo had been given a tour of Highbury and got an Arsenal shirt with his name on. A deal had been agreed with Mendes and Arsenal were haggling with Sporting Lisbon for £4.5m. Then they played Man Utd was man of the match and they offered £12m which we couldn’t afford because of the stadium financing.
Mind you it works both ways with signings. Famously Spurs flew Pires over, showed him around and then paid for his cab fare to us.
As for why our players contracts are left to run down, I think asking Dick Law and Gazidis would be of benefit as they’re the ones that did the negotiations. I’d guess the answer will be saving money at some point.
Hobart, I think that was Emmanuel Petit, but whoever it was it’s a good story. 😉
If there good though Adam, why not just keep them?
Hobart, there’s a difference between squabbling over money and a player simply opting for the bigger club… lol
Rico. I imagine it’s a matter of pure finance. A way to use the clubs expensive facilities to make money producing young footballers. Looking at the transfer fees and the examples we have recently seen with Chelsea, I can see it. They won’t all be top-end players but an elite youngster might come along once in a while. It’s all the brainchild of the latest management regime apparently.
Cicero you’re correct, it was Petit.
Rico choosing the bigger club is one thing but if we’d have stumped up the cash quicker, then he’d have already signed before United cams along.
As true as it is now it was then. If you throw more money at things you can get them done quicker. Then we only had to deal with 2-3 teams with huge budgets. Now we have 3-4 just in the premier league.
Arsenal used to be a football club…
And football used to be a game 🙁
I suppose it’s the most likely way for us to make money Adam..
Hobart, I meant Petit, not Ronaldo…
We’re the new London bank now Kev.
Rico. I reckon so.
You watching the match Adam?
I am Rico. United have a spiteful edge these days
Great goals though
They certainly have Adam.
What a different player Pogba is now.
It’s all in the cross, I wonder if we might try crossing the ball one day…
I’d be happy if we could get a corner beyond the first defender. 😆
That would be a good start.. 😜
Ref bottled that. Matic should be off.
I reckon so
They have always had a spiteful edge Adam, players such as Young, Matic, Valencia and Herera are continuing the thuggery which has been a feature of their play for years.
Chelsea’s defence looks as dodgy as ours. Two nil down at home and if the think Higuain is going to save them they need to think again.
The only player we’ve had in the last 6-8 years that could deliver a deadly cross was Andre Santos, but he could get only get in position once a game to deliver 🙂
How long will Sarri hang on?
Morning..
New post up.