Morning all.
Announced at last and this signing is a good one. Granit is strong, he leads by example and he doesn’t bottle tackles. All the attributes our midfield has been in so desperate need of. Francis Coquelin doesn’t shy away from getting stuck in either so now we finally have two strong players in the centre of the park.
At just 23 years old, he already captained Borussia Monchengladbach, which speaks for itself really in relation to his leadership qualities and with the captains armband up for grabs, who knows, he might just get it at Arsenal.
Apparently Arsene has also snapped up a young striker according to the players agent. Rolando Zarate has said publicly that Arsenal have agreed terms with 17 year old striker Maximiliano Romero but he won’t move to London for another two years as he’s staying in Argentina with Velez. This is the guy who would already be at Arsenal had he not suffered a dreadful injury. He’s certainly one for the future but what this Arsenal squad needs is a striker for the here and now. Hopefully Arsene Wenger will sort that out of the coming days/weeks as well as addressing other areas in the squad.
This time of the year it’s always interesting, no, amusing, to read the transfer rumours and listen to the so called experts in the media who suggest which players Arsene Wenger needs to sign. Stories about who we are about to sign, agents spinning fibs just so their player can get a pay rise and plenty of other stuff which invariably has been made up.
No-one really knows how much Arsene Wenger is allowed to spend each summer although the Frenchman has kind of suggested he can do what he likes as he always has the backing of Stan Kroenke and perhaps that’s just why our old striker John Hartson believes Arsene will spend a massive £150 million this summer.
As much as that sounds a vast amount of money to you and I, and not the kind of spending one would necessarily associate with our manager, the way money is thrown at the game today, £150 million is not really that much, especially when one considers that Arsenal have just earned around £100 million from TV broadcasting alone last season. So maybe Hartson is not too far off with his bold prediction.
What would that kind of amount get these days though, especially if a striker like Morata is deemed to be worth £50 million? Add that to the signing of Granit Xhaka and more than half of that money would be gone. I personally believe that Arsene has to go big and be bold with a striker move because if he gets a good one, there’s little reason why Arsenal can’t win the league next season because the one of things which prevented us from doing so last season was not being able to convert more of the many chances the team created. The Southampton game at home is just one game which sits in my mind and I don’t know how many chances we had, but it was well into double figures, yet not one was taken. We need a striker who can do something special, one who isn’t afraid to shoot regardless of what he’s told because once he starts scoring and we win matches, Arsene would be foolish to tell him to pass one more time.
Just like most, I haven’t a clue which striker he’ll sign but I sure as heck hope he gets a good one. No, a great one…
Then he can sit down, count his money and sort the squad out with what he has left…..
I’ll leave you with this. Happy St Thomas’s Day everyone!!
It was up for grabs then and Michael Thomas grabbed it……..
And Bellerin has Barca dna according to El Mundo Deportivo as Alves heads for Juventus.
I always love to read from you
Ah that Barca Dna? who does the lab test for Barca? lol
Is the DNA inherited or just determined by association?
Good morning Rico, Potter and all
Noooo Potter, he’s not interested in returning…
Morning all,
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160526/who-is-granit-xhaka-
I’d have hoped they would have known by now ?
Morning again Ts…
I’m off out for a few hours so catch up after lunch…
Enjoy your day Rico…; I hope you haven’t left goonie in charge? 😉
Good day all!
Arsenal interested in Koulibaly, a 6ft 2in Senegal international?
No way!
I watched that Napoli vs Genoa match and he is sh*t, worse than Gabriel in buying all those dummies. He is rather pedestrian and I can’t see anything good in him.
Bellerin?
Watch out for Euro2016 like Euro2010 where Fabregas’ head was turned and no longer interested to play for Arsenal then.
Whatever it is, I always remembered Bellerin’s statement when he first landed on the shore claiming that he will eventually returned to Barca … and that statement was quickly retracted. I am not holding my breathe as he is replaceable and not that impressible in 2016.
Thanks re: Bellerin, Coach/Brad, but we know how Barca work, they won’t go away and the more Hector improves the more they’ll try to unsettle him…
I hope he is as good as his word as far as wanting to remain at Arsenal, but those sentiments can change and often do, and tbh if Barcrlona came in with a big enough bid I’m sure KSE would sanction his sale.
That’s modern football warts n all…
http://arsenal.news/news/xhaka-flying-in-hector-bellerin-confirms-he-wants-to-be-in-a-hot-country-by-the-sea
Not good reading. Probably taken out of context.
I remember that one on his twitter page , they asked Bellerin where is the ideal place to retire
Exactly Brad, the article was on where can you see yourself when you retire….. Wondered how long it would take someone at Barca to twist that a little….. piss funny
There will be a lot more of that kind of nonsense surrounding Bellerin over the next couple of years.
Let’s just hope that Barcelona get another right-back and bugger off…
As for the young Argentinian striker, I guess it’s all well and good but Vela, Wellington and a few other South American wonder boys come to mind…
It’s the here and now I’m more concerned about, all this jam tomorrow rubbish is boring…
Stan still buying more stake, Rico won’t like this bit
A few days after his American football team were announced as the hosts of the 2021 Super Bowl, Stan Kroenke has upped his interest in London-based football team Arsenal.
The US businessman, who has owned part of Arsenal since 2007 and is now the majority shareholder, acquired 23 ordinary shares of £1 each in the company at a price of £16,000 per share.
That effectively means that KSE UK, which is wholly owned by Kroenke, has beneficial interest in, and controls the voting rights over, 41,721 ordinary shares – equating to 67.06 per cent of the issued ordinary shares in Arsenal.
In April 2011 Kroenke triggered a takeover bid for Arsenal when he moved his holding beyond the set mark. His dealings have been conducted through Delaware-based Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE). That came about when he extended his ownership of the club by acquiring the 15.9 per cent interest of Nina Bracewell-Smith, 16.11 per cent interest of Danny Fiszman and other directors of the Arsenal board.
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Earlier in May, longstanding Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that Kroenke is prepared to invest “as much money as we want” in efforts to rebuild the club and bring with it trophies. “Stan Kroenke is completely behind myself and the board investing as much money as we want,” he added.
Alongside his interest in Arsenal, Kroenke owns NBA team Denver Nuggets, NHL team Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer team Colorado Rapids and NFL team St Louis Rams. His wife is Ann Walton Kroenke, the daughter of Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton.
Fresh research from The Guardian has shown that Arsenal has the third highest turnover in the Premier League, up from £302m in 2014 to £345m in 2015. This breaks down to £100m from gate and match-day income, £125m from TV and broadcasting, £25m from retail, £79m from commercial, £15m from property development and £800,000 from player trading.
It’s wage bill is the fourth highest in the league, at £192m, and represents 56 per cent of turnover. The highest paid director is Ivan Gazidis, who took home £2.29m and is also a significant shareholder.
Afternoon all. Been a while so just thought I’d check in before getting back to work – enjoying a coffee with ALLEZ KEV at the mo
Afternoon all…
Good to see you Rocky, hope Kev paid for your coffee…. lol
Is that ‘stake’ for his BBQ Marshall… 😉
Merlin, Maradonna once said Kalidou Koulibaly is good enough to play for Barca, that’s according to Wikki… lol
Potter you need to tell Hector the wonders of the Norfolk coast then……. 😉
Afternoon Rico, yep it was nice, catching up with Rocky, he looks very well, is working very hard and was wearing a really nice jacket, I was very impressed… ?
Afternoon Kev – I’m impressed too, but did you pay for the coffee? 😉
Kev. Did you show him your ‘fiver on the floor’ trick? 🙂
Adam , ha ha ha…
Nah mate, it cost me a fiver last time… ?
But we’re all threatening to come around to yours… ?
Apparently Arsenal have raised their bid for Holding from £750,000 to an eye watering £1.2 million.
Not sure that that is gonna be enough…
Don’t they want £7million Kev?
Rvp and podolski playing at the moment in the Turkish cup final
Evening all
Hi Joe.. Emmerdale is good too… 😉
Podolski scores
Must be because it looks like everyone is watching it ☺
When is Peggy dieing
She’s already gone but in Eastenders…. Lol
I’m off for the day so night Joe and all….
I see the Sun newspaper has produced an article yesterday that if ref’s had done thier jobs correctly Arsenal would have won the pl.
This would have been the top 4
1-Arsenal
2-leicester
3- Southampton
4-Spuds
Finally something in the media I can get behind ?
But why did it have to be the Sun ?
I couldn’t possibly comment…..I’d be so out of my comfort zone !
rico, great photo, Kev, what we all wanna know is do you bury it in the garden or stash it in the loft lol.
Morning all, this Emmerdale must be good everyone must be still watching.
It was the omnibus last night Joe….
Morning to you and all…
Micko, which one? lol
It could be possible me and my ref ravings
That’s been going on for months, not just overnight……
Morning Rico. Last few days to ST renewal now. I imagine Granit was rushed through to help encourage those, like myself, who have been experiencing the annual doubts. 🙂
I’d say years would be closer to the truth ?
Morning Adam. I reckon that deal was all but done last summer but it was a season too soon for Xhaka…
Rico. Probably true. It’s Wenger’s way I suppose and nothing anybody says or does will change a thing as he is enmeshed in the fibre of the club. Let’s hope that he doesn’t dawdle about with the rest of the ins and outs.
I didn’t want to be cruel Joe… 😉
Let’s hope not Adam, he has a lot of work to do this summer and before the Euros I’d say, especially the ins.
Well Rico, he’s got my money now so hopefully that will embolden him. 🙂
I knew you would Adam… 😉
Rico. You change change your socks and even your partner, but you can’t change your passions. 🙂
Can change. Tut, tut.
Now Rico when I am proven right I’ll remind you of to day over and over.?
Absolutely Adam…
I’m not saying the refs get things right Joe, but I can’t hide behind them to defend Arsenal’s failings…
New post up now..