Should we be grateful? NO! Young guns to save our season?

Morning all.

So the sly old fox could have done us all a favour in the summer. Psg made contact with him, they wanted him but a bit like Arsene Wenger during a transfer window, the French club didn’t try hard enough to get their man. Wenger considered leaving but in the end, decided against it. Of course I’ve no idea whether he’s telling us the truth or not, seldom does he but bearing in mind he’s told us many times about how he’s turned down so offers from big clubs before just to stay at Arsenal, this could be another in that long list. Or just a big fat white lie. Knowing the way he works it’s his attempt to try and make us feel grateful he’s stayed. As if eh!!

Darn though if it was true, we had a chance of change. If only eh. I guess if he did give the move some serious thought, although I wouldn’t bet on him turning them down next time if they come calling, in fact you can bet 10 and get 30 offers on that happening, especially if Alexis and Ozil walk for free next summer. Perhaps he’ll try and offload both in January, after all, he’s said he’ll be back for Lemar. Yeah yeah yeah, I believe him……

The thought of having to spend mega bucks on two top replacements is something I doubt he’ll relish.

Saying that, depending on who pushes through from the Academy this season he or whoever is manager next summer might not have to. Alex Iwobi might flourish, Reiss Nelson could be our very own ‘Mbappe’ and young Eddie, if given the minutes in certain fixtures, might replicate his under 23 form for the big boys. How old were Rooney and Owen when they started delivering for their respective clubs? There’s Maitland-Niles and Reine-Adelaide too, both having been promoted to the first team squad. With the fixture list as it is, a game roughly every three days, I think he’ll have to use them but the key is to not run them into the ground.

I’m still not convinced Arsene Wenger will survive the season though, not if things continue as they were prior to the international break and certainly not if he carries on playing players out of position or leaving the two summer signings he did make on the bench. He’s been heavily criticised for doing so but as we have seen over the years, the more he’s criticised, the more stubborn he is and he carries on regardless. A wiser man/woman would listen and learn from his mistakes but he doesn’t and that could be his downfall.

What about when he does go though and just typing those words brings a smile to my face…

I’d imagine the first thing any new man would do is sort out the defence and midfield. Merts will be in his new job, Kolasinac will hopefully have enjoyed a great season and Holding will have got over the jitters to prove he’s our future. Not convinced about Chambers, not yet anyway but the England under 21 manager believes in him so what do I know eh. Koscielny will be another year older and his fitness continues to raise question marks and Mustafi already seems to want out.

As for the rest, well I think this is a big season for them all. Not only are they playing for their future at Arsenal but for their country too, especially with a World Cup looming. For a few of our players, it’s the last chance they’ll get to be picked for the big competition. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Ox wanted out? He’s not going to get selected by Southgate to play at right back is he? He wants that much craved central midfield spot and clearly Wenger wasn’t going to play him there. Now he has a fresh chance at the Dippers and clearly believes there’s more chance of that happening up north than in north London.

Maybe the World Cup will be motivation enough for our boys to work a lot harder but sadly I doubt it because as said yesterday, their international managers know how to get the best out of them regardless of how they play for their club so guys like Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez, Bellerin, Welbeck etc etc pretty much know their World Cup selection is safe if their country qualifies to be in it.

A bit like their Arsenal place really but the difference is, Arsene Wenger doesn’t seem to have the ability to get the best from them. But what do we or he expect when he plays them out of their natural position…

Enough moaning I hear to say. Ok, I’ll stop now…

65 thoughts on “Should we be grateful? NO! Young guns to save our season?

  1. Marshall says:

    Morning Rico, all.
    Sort of took a back seat on everything arsenal. Been interesting reading the posts though, and the comments been coming in thick and fast :).

    It’s a sh!t show and last year a time like this we never thought it could get any worse. Nothing is changing over at the Ems. The transfer got worse – so much for hiring a new ‘contract negotiator’. On the pitch, it’s safe to say Wenger is clinically mad. Playing Bellerin on the left is just bonkers.

    They’d all just hang.

  2. Le Coq Monster says:

    Thanks Rico for another good `un !………….here though is something meaty to get into and the way I read it………….. not a lot in the coffers and I dont know by reading the link below how we can afford Lemar next time around as we wont get £60M for Alexis !…………..the last paragraph sums up why we ultimately need Kroenke gone as he`s deluded.

    The Gospel according Ornstein

    http://www.101greatgoals.com/news/huge-arsenal-update-david-ornstein-shambolic-summer-window/

  3. Le Coq Monster says:

    Damn !……………..Kev beat me to it by 2 mins !………….read Kev`s link it is better only because it has comments beneath it !

    🙂

  4. rico says:

    Thanks Lc.

    What I don’t understand is why, IF there is no money, the club don’t tell us. Why does Wenger constantly tell us that he’s busy, looking for that special talent…. blah blah blah…

    Also, if the fire sale was desperately needed which clearly it was and not just for financial reasons, why weren’t the players sold off much earlier to raise the cash.

  5. allezkev says:

    Yeah Rico, Stan wants trophies, probably the NFL Super Bowl, the NHL Super Duper Bowl, the NBA Jump In the Air Bowl, the US Soccer Bowl, yadda yadda yadda.

    Morning All
    Morning Rico, and I award you the Writer of the Year Bowl…. ?

  6. allezkev says:

    Rico, why did it take all summer for Wenger to realise that our c/m needed strengthening?
    Seems that people on the inside realised, but Arsene, he no listen.
    Well not until it was too late.
    A bit of a common theme for him.

  7. Le Coq Monster says:

    I doff my cap Kev to your superior stronger fingers !…………………….. 🙂

    Now what I dont understand is…………………..We had (rumour) £150M to spend before window opened, we ended up making £30M !……………………we shaved a large portion of wage bill by 24 players sold/loaned/terminated etc`…………and only brought in twp players……………is the Ornstein report telling me we have spent £150M on Kolasinac and Lacazette`s wages ????…………..we dont pay 5 years wages up front, they are paid monthly, so where has the fcuking moeny gone ???? ……………..all sounds fishy to me, something is not adding up !………..and as Rico says…………tell us what official financial position we are in !………………..fcuk me, we got £240M in the last two seasons for just being in the league !…………………..someone`s telling Porkies !…………………………………..and add……….Bellerin`s head has been turned !……………………………………..worst thing to happen Leicester winning the league, now Kroenke think`s we can do it on a budget !

  8. Meerkat says:

    Hi everyone, thanks for a good opening post rico.

    Had to chuckle at the links, especially re Leicester now being our role-model!! LOL.

    And this reply from someone caught my eye;-)

    *Sadly this club couldn’t plan a teddy bears picnic without;
    one teddy bear tearing a hamstring and needing to go home,
    some teddy bears sitting in completely the wrong place,
    other teddy bears wanting to try another picnic
    and finally unhappy teddy bears who were told to go elsewhere,
    now being berated for not attending.*

    Hahaha! Good analogy.

  9. rico says:

    Thanks Meerkat..

    Reports suggest UEFA might be looking at the spending of Man City. I guess they won’t be investigating Arsenal….

  10. Meerkat says:

    There is a petition going around if anyone wants to sign it:-

    Rhys Brown just posted an update on #KroenkeOut Petition

    Now is the summer of our discontent

    Just an update. There is a rapidly growing discontent among Arsenal Supporters, and the reasons for this are accumulating. The increasingly widespread consensus is that Stan Kroenke is a parasite to the club. Not only does he leach off of it, but he leaves an ugly trail of destruction behind him. Of course, we signatories’ main concern has to be his promotion of animal cruelty. The time is…

    Read full update

    The person (or organisation) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content. Click here to stop receiving updates about this petition.

  11. Meerkat says:

    PS. It was forwarded to me and others by a friend, and includes their email address. Please ignore that and just google the petition.

  12. Le Coq Monster says:

    Abu Dhabi City and Paris Saint Qatar……………two state aided teams with more money than stars in the Universe and a corrupt UEFA with more backhanders taken than stars in the Universe = not much going to happen !………more chance Kroenke selling his ranch and putting the money in Arsenal squad additions !

    So tell me, M`kat !…………………………this teddy bears picnic analogy……..who`s Goldilocks ?……….Stan or Arsene ? hahaha

  13. Obi says:

    The PSG rumours were solid. Both Goal TV and Bein Sports reported that Wenger was offered the job this was around February. ESPN FC went even further saying that not only Wenger was offered the PSG job but Barce and France also made contact with him. That was the reason for his arrogant statement of ” I will be managing next year”.

    Btw, did anyone saw how dreadful Sanchez was in Chile v Paraguay? I hope he doesn’t bring that form to Arsenal. It was so bad that after the game Vidal was asked if the transfer dealings has anything to do with Alexis’ form? He said “no because there was nothing agreed to and Alexis told him that he signed nothing or agreed with any one to leave Arsenal, so he just had a bad game”. That seems to confirm AW version that they were not close to anything.

  14. Kk says:

    Interesting link from arseblog and orne. ..

    Wenger is too comfortable at arsenal he can do what he wants wIth little accountability, that’s partly why he turned down other offers. ..

    So even a nobody Bellerin wanted out , could explain his very poor showing since the end of last season, and master tactician and motivator wenger response is to play him a left wingback .

    You have to laugh at the statement of some intenal people from the club are concerned about the central midfield situation and when wenger reallized it was too late in the window!!!
    You couldn’t make this shit up.

  15. Joaquim Moreira says:

    The board leaves in this world?
    Have they looked at the rating yet?
    Have they not realized that instead of having a motivated team with goals, they have the exact opposite?
    How can they say that the “window” was a success and are able to fight for the 1st place? (if they were the best in London I was satisfied in this season)

  16. Wavy says:

    Sadly Arlene does not live in the same world as the rest of us! His purblind eyes and his addled brain do not connect reality with his ‘vision, (both real and metaphorical).
    Another day passes and we have another ‘insight’ revealed which only serves to show us how really out of touch he is both on and off the field of play.
    Still, let’s look on the bright side, it’s less than 2 years before he will be consigned to Arsenal history. Whoopeedoo!

    Afternoon all. Another mostly grey one.

  17. Wavy says:

    Incidentally, I’ve re christened Arse Seen to Arlene! This is to show my growing contempt for a man I’d held in very high esteem, for all the right reasons but he has fallen so far back now that I find it extremely difficult to find any positives in his current incarnation.
    It’s time he exited stage right, followed by a bear! (Usminov comes to mind).

  18. Le Coq Monster says:

    I thought you meant Marlene fron Fools and Horses !… hahaha

    Rico, If Ornstein is right, somehow we only had the £30M from the Summer Sales, to get Lemar we needed the £60M from Alexis….making the £90 bid !……………without Kroenke putting his money in we are the creek without a paddle, we are miles behind what “The Big 3” can pay in fee`s and wages and the way fee`s are going ala Neymar and the “loaned” Mbappe,up up and up how will we compete without any rich mans money ?……………………..I still cant get my head around how we haven`t got any money (in football rich terms) left !…………………even the supposed over £200m( is it there or is that another myth ?……..after Ornstein`s story, I dont know what to believe now !)) in the bank will not get you 2/3 top quality players soon the way prices are rising !.

  19. Le Coq Monster says:

    Not forgetting Ornsteins revelation that Bellerin and others wanted out……………..how many more players are in this rebellion ?……………..all them praising Arsene and stabbing him in the back……………No !…….stabbing the club and fans in the back !…………..f##king pu##ies the lot of them……………….New Owner……new manager, fcuk em all and start again from scratch !

  20. Le Coq Monster says:

    If we think this TW was bad……………fast forward to next Summers TW !………………………Alexis gone for nothing………………Ozil gone for nothing……………………Bellerin………nice long contract so he will bring in some dosh…………..Wilshere gone for nothing……………….Mustafi wants out…………………….and God knows who else in last year of contract and …………………….etc etc etc………………………so just the Bellerin money and the £30M left over from this window to replace all who leave !……………………………next Summer TW will be when the shit hits the fan in biblical proportions……………….Wenger will wilt !…………..and Kroenke wont give a fcuk !

  21. Wavy says:

    Remiss of me not to acknowledge the passing of Walter Becker, one half of my favourite ‘group’ of all time, and still are.
    Reelin’ in the years got me hooked whilst sitting in the car park that is the North Circular when on my way to a building site in Kew, in 1974. I’ve never wavered since. First love and all that!!
    Sad, but at least he leaves a rich tapestry of high quality songs.

  22. Le Coq Monster says:

    Dont normally read it, but the headline on newsnow made me curious and I`m glad I did as there`s a great post on 7am kick off…………………..just another post that ties in with us looking like being up a creek without a paddle………….especially from Jan` TW to Summer TW.

  23. Le Coq Monster says:

    No life rafts or life jackets !………………we`re doomed !…………………………………………….I know we all (most) want Wenger gone, but todays revelations via Ornstein only serve us with what life under Kroenke will be like for any Wenger replacement ans reiterates why Kroenke is the bigger evil and has been all along and there are a few of us on here who have always kept that stance .

    Herb…….come out to play !………..need a rant from you about the Ornstein stuff !…………pretty please ! hahaha

  24. ScottfromOz says:

    Morning all.
    LC, in a FB group, I asked Last season who people wanted out first- Arsene, or Stan.
    This was after a pathetic run of games where Arsene was copping it big time.
    Even his biggest critics said Stan-only one went Arsene.
    Seems these guys were a little ahead of the game as more and more people are now waking up to the fact Stan is the real problem, and Arsene is just a symptom.
    Thank goodness the tide is turning.
    As I’ve said for a few years, If Stan stays, nothing changes, imo.
    However, If Stan goes, Arsene won’t be far behind but as some people have suggested, and they may well be correct, Arsene leaving could well be the catalyst for Stan to leave as well.
    Whatever happens, no action at all means no change.

  25. Joaquim Moreira says:

    In end of December we will see our position in all the competitions.
    Those players above could be sell in January

  26. Le Coq Monster says:

    Scott……………………….Since I`ve been on this site you have always (as well as me) been in the Kroenke is the biggest evil camp and probably like me you`ve been saying it before I came on site for years !……………..I think Kev`, Herb and M`kat are also in the same camp and others which dont come straight to mind and forgive me if I`m wrong !………………….even the Wenger Out brigade on here know Kroenke must go, we just have to agree to disagree who should go first……………….actually I`m going to contradict myself now and say Wenger should go right now , but that`s only because I know Kroenke is going to be a harder nut to crack, but lets make no mistake………………..Kroenke may not be the death of the club , but the death of us competeing on level terms, I doubt he will ever put a penny into the club as he hasn`t in the ten years of being a shareholder, we will end up like all his other sporting interests…………………..average !………………….the sooner he goes the better and I know Rico wont like me writing anything morbid about him , but you know what I`m thinking ! hahaha

    Night !

  27. Meerkat says:

    It’s not too late LCM for that whip round to hire a hit-man, lol.

    ps. Goldilocks would have to be Stan, moaning that someone had been eating the porridge (which he uses to stick his syrup on securely, like wallpaper paste);-)

  28. Meerkat says:

    I just wish Wenger would stand up and say, enough is enough, we can’t go on like this and resign on principle. Rafa Benitez probably will because Mike Ashley has reneged on promises for more money, so why can’t Wenger. We’d respect him a bit more if he walked.

    Reading those blogs today, has made it even more obvious that Arsenal are doomed under this regime. Why would Wenger want to stay and work for a prat like Stan? Is he deluded enough to think he can compete with Napoleon, Pep, Conte, Poch and Koeman without any funding?

  29. Wavy says:

    Yesterday is Meerkat, deluded that is! And he does think he can turn water into into wine! After all his experience in the game Arlene knows, well fcuk all actually, but he believes he has all the answers. Thereby hangs his demise and delusions. He’ll be be hearing voices next….. The pure is not far behind! It’s not without precedent….the Maid of d’Orleans preceded him. She thought she was better than she was and had a direct line to God! Sorry a bit blasphemous that remark. They do share a similar nationality though.

  30. ScottfromOz says:

    I reckon Arsene believes he’s our only hope.
    He’s not, but there are a lot worse options out there, but his successor better be ready for a challenge.

  31. Wath says:

    A comment posted on another site in reply to a gent saying that Krunkey is the problem and any manager will have huge problems working at Arsenal under these conditions… Food for thought in this response..!

    What conditions are you talking about? Please tell me?
    How hard is it to work at Arsenal?
    Is the money not being given? Why have we spent more money than Chelsea in the last 5 years? By £70m! Liverpool has spent less. Spuds are almost positive at £15m net spend for the last 5 years. We are at £210m!!!
    We give almost twice as much salary as spuds. We give 1/4 more wages than Liverpool. We are less than 1/10-th away from Chelsea but we’ve spent more money on transfers.
    Whoever says that Kroenke has put the club’s spending on a leash and we cannot compete because of that is deluded!!

  32. Adam says:

    I agree but I imagine there would be all sorts of shenanigans if he ever took over. New board, backroom staff, CEO perhaps? But, you’re right. It wouldn’t stop some of the odd decisions we’ve seen from Arsene. I doubt he would stick around long if he was held to detailed account.

  33. Wath says:

    Morning Adam, there really are so many factors that are disproportionate at the club that it’s farcical that so many are even still in a job.
    We’ve all seen and moaned about the wages paid to very average players for years and years yet we continue to do it..! Seems not only does the manager makes the same mistakes repeatedly but so do the club hierarchy in so far as allowing this crap to continue where players will not leave as other clubs won’t pay the money they on at Arsenal. This causes fee’s to me half to allow signing on fee’s for players to cover the loss of wages at a new club. Total and utter cock up and that comes from the almighty one wanting this socialist wage structure of no superstar salaries…! Highlights just one of the problems of where the money gets spunked yet who’s fault is that. Then the circle starts again of who is accountable and who lets this lunatic get away with this crap due to the top gents not wanting to take responsibility. A complete shit show but when you look at the figures the money is most definitely there, it’s how it’s spent or rather how it’s wasted more like.

  34. Wath says:

    RIco, get rid of the end cause and work your way back if/when things don’t change. At the moment to many hiding behind the Wenger fuck ups to sit comfy, if he gone then they get roasted as well when the fingers start pointing. The top is definitely rotten but is that the owner of the pathetic gutless board who prefer horse racing and a jolly up eating Raymond Blancs grub every other Saturday..!

    I can’t be arsed with it anymore to be honest, they ca all go fuck themselves… When they are as invested as I am then I’ll turn back on again but until then i ain’t ruining my weekends and weeks when players staff manager and board really don’t give a flying fuck about “US” the people that pay their wages and support through thick and thin…. Now I am reading Darth Wenger says critical fans will cost the club success…. really… what an utter twat, No that’s you you mug and the cheek of the man is beyond contempt..!

  35. Adam says:

    I agree Wath. Wenger is a one-off in a unique position. As we have said before, no future Arsenal manager will again have the freedom he has enjoyed.
    Add the press constantly briefing against the club and it just serves to wind the fans up.

  36. Wath says:

    I think it’s not just see who Krunkey is Rico it’s see what other leeches at the club are thieving a living…! If Wenger goes who above him actually does a proper job as well..? His leaving opens a can of worms and will show exactly who does what…! Fuck em all off I say..!
    We now looking at tying down the players out of contract in 2019… bit late now and they mostly the average players we don’t really care about. Who in their right mind sanctions offering Ox 180k per week…. utter lunacy…!

  37. ScottfromOz says:

    Wath, I don’t think many have blamed everything on Stan.
    Also, look back at our squad 5 years ago compared to the other clubs.
    Comparing us to Chelsea is ridiculous-they had an excess of World class players then, so were able to sell at top dollar and replace them with top clas players.
    Spuds sold Bale for nearly 100 million, Kyle Walker for 50-theres a chunk of “net spend” right there.
    He makes some decent points, but most of them can easily be pulled apart when stripped bare.
    Why do people think Roman was all for FFP a few years back?
    Why?
    Because he already had his fill of World Class players, so could do EXACTLY what I said-sell for top dollar, replace with top price players and the books are balanced, yet the quality remains.
    It’s easy when you’re starting point is so good.
    5 years ago, we had nowhere near the high priced talent on our books so I’ll definitely say his post is flawed, to say the least.
    Morning all.
    Good to hear from ya, Wath 🙂
    PS-Stan is at fault for keeping Arsene loitering around lol

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