Morning all.
How’s it been for you, you know the lockdown that is? Well my garden looks absolutely fantastic as the weather has been great but I’m really missing my footie now and despite all of the best efforts of the Bundesliga I’m afraid that the empty stadiums in Germany just don’t do it for me. Football needs fans, atmosphere.
Will it mean more to us when Arsenal are involved? I think it probably will but it’ll still feel like a pre season game – and that might suit us because our technical skill could make the difference if the opposition lack their own fans driving them on.
Anyway, I’ve written about young players and then the current players who I think are still a major part of our immediate future, but what about the class of 2021, you know the ones, that group of high earners whose contracts expire in just over 12 months. Do Arsenal stick or do Arsenal twist?
The biggest question mark hangs over probably our most valuable and surely best player, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, especially as this summer is the last time that Arsenal can get a fee for our 30 goal a season striker. Prior to the last couple or three months it was suggested that Arsenal could hope to generate a fee in the region of around £60m plus, but in a transfer market hit by the oncoming recession, thanks to our mates in the orient ( and no I don’t mean Brisbane Road ) that figure looks highly unlikely. Arsenal will be negotiating in a very different and difficult climate this summer which will almost certainly see prices plummet like never before and perhaps wages as well. So with that in mind the suggestion that Arsenal might be lucky to get £30m for PEA isn’t necessarily unrealistic which to me, raises the prospect of him staying and seeing out his contract.
I guess you have to balance his 30 plus goals together with the prospect of what that can achieve for us in terms of a league position or cups or not if he leaves for bugger all, against who we can replace him with and where that will possibly leave us.
I can’t think anyone affordable out there who is capable of getting us 30 odd goals in a season. Also in a years time he’ll be 32 and if the world situation is still uncertain we might be able to persuade him to stay on if it’s viable? It’s a high risk policy I know, but maybe a risk worth taking under Arteta. Maybe a full year under Arteta will make him change his mind about leaving.
So, sell or keep? The caveat being the fee offered of course.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to sign for Roma and the Eternal City wants him. His agent it seems also wants his commission, so a very simple deal between the clubs involved and the interested parties can surely be arranged you’d think. But there’s a lot more to this transfer than just giving Micky a free transfer as many fans suggest, it’s never that simple and especially not that simple when Mino Raiola is involved.
According to Transfermarket, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is valued at £18m although that was probably his pre lockdown value. £10 million is perhaps more realist but even that’s a lot of money for a player whose not getting any younger. Then there’s his wages to consider. I’m sure Mkhitaryan would be reluctant to take a pay cut and with Raiola wanting his share, a deal might not be as easy as it looks. Perhaps some kind of agreement to leave him in Italy for the remainder of his contract, with Arsenal contributing towards his wages can reached.
Even if Arsenal and Roma agreed a permanent transfer, no doubt some of the fee will that ultimately end up in the back pocket of Mkhitaryan and Raiola. The whole deal stinks to me. Mkhitaryan certainly doesn’t want to come back to England so that actually gives Arsenal some leverage and I actually like the fact that Arsenal are playing hardball in this deal because it was so terribly negotiated in the first place and has seen the club haemorrhage a fortune on a player who has in general been well below average during his time in London.
Arsenal have allowed themselves to be royally shafted too many times over transfers and contracts in recent years which had to stop. I think Raul has made some improvements on that front and deserves some credit in that regard, but there’s still a long way to go.
So no, I don’t think we should just ‘get rid’ to remove his wages off of our books, not unless it’s a clean break and we get a fee for him. In fact, tell him that Arteta really wants to work with him, even if it’s only for a year blah blah blah and let him stew.
So, let him go for free, even if it means the club finance his wages, or keep him?
A few months ago, pre Arteta, I couldn’t stand David Luiz the footballer. He was a car crash of a defender just doing his own thing regardless of what the team was trying to achieve, but little did I know how bad things had got internally as the Emery era wound down. Although Freddie did his best to stem the tide it wasn’t until Arteta took over that we finally saw the real David Luiz. His confidence and sense of direction has returned, in fact up to a point to where he’s arguably our best central defender.
He’s very fit, very popular around the club and a good influence on young players and especially Gabriel Martinelli but is he the type of defender who could go into his late 30’s like some of our old timers back in the day?If he is, then is he worth a new contract?
I’m really torn on this one because you still feel that there’s a major blunder in his game as was often the case at Chelsea, PSG and for Brazil, but then every defender makes big errors, it’s just how costly they are and how often.
Arteta has some really big decisions to make about several central defenders at Arsenal in the very near future with very little in terms of finance to change things. We could sell a few only to find ourselves a lot worse off, so how about offering him a one year extension to his current contract this summer and making him vice captain?
So, sell now, extend his current contract or let him leave for free in a year?
Sokratis has had his detractors during his time at Arsenal but I think he’s done reasonably well given many of the circumstances he’s found himself in at Arsenal during this unsettled period. When he arrived he immediately added some physicality and dark arts to our defence which at the time was all over the place and had been, both before and after Wenger departed. We needed to be less nice and bit more cynical and Papa was just the man. Nobody could obstruct, shirt pull and hold opponents quite like him, but this season and the advent of the TV referee has negated some of his ‘attributes’. Add in some of the defensive tactics Emery put our defenders through over an 18 month period then it’s surprising he hasn’t suffered a mental breakdown.
Arteta has come in and calmed everything down even using Papa as an emergency right back after Maitland Niles had a crisis of confidence.
I’ve always been fond of Sokratis, he looks like a bandit but nobody quite looks as innocent to the referee as him after he’s trampled all over an opponent.
With three centre backs out of contract in 2021, I suspect that he’s the one most likely to bid farewell to the Emirates, but is it possible that Arteta will sanction a contract extension to the man with the same facial expression for all situations?
So keep, then a let go for free in 12 months time or sell this summer? Or offer him a new contract?
Shkodran Mustafi has to be one of the most maligned footballers to have ever worn the famous red and white shirt of Arsenal since I don’t know when. Nobody springs to mind in comparison. It’s seems he’s almost universally disliked by the fan base but it wasn’t always that way. When he first arrived he was a bit of a crowd favourite because he was a centre back who attacked the ball in the air and tackled like it meant something. We’d got so used to the passive central defenders which Wenger favoured around the time that Shkodran was like a breath of fresh air. Sadly it didn’t last and when he returned from injury during his first season the wheels began to wobble a bit. A steady decline followed until those wobbling wheels came off altogether and his relationship with the fans just deteriorated into a thinly veiled antipathy as he stumbled from one disaster to another.
Emery didn’t help and as his form just dissolved into a kind of smell that hung around the place, he became almost a figure of fun, the runt of the litter, a bit of a joke. I’m not sure how he even managed to go out and play during that period, but Arteta seems to have worked some form of magic on our stumbling World Cup winner who was putting in some good performances before the lockdown.
Now I’m not saying he’s the answer to all our defensive problems because it’s hard to forget how Aguero mugged him at Wembley in the League Cup final and when you add the litany of reckless challenges in the box which led to penalties, there’s a fairly conclusive list of failures under pressure. But, with money so tight there might be some sense in getting him to sign a new deal as at least then it protects his value and if he continues to improve under Arteta we could sell him further down the line for decent fee.
So, sell him this summer, offer him a new contract or let him go for free in 2021?
How do you solve a problem called Mesut Ozil? The short answer is you don’t. You have to see out the poorly negotiated contract you gave him and hopefully learn a lesson which unfortunately the club had repeated too many times in recent years. Learn to sell players at the optimum time, as Liverpool always seem to. Mesut is another whose deal expires in 12 months time and we know this because it’s the mantra constantly repeated by his agent, so despite the club being open to selling him for the best part of 18 months, he’s not going anywhere. And why should he?
He is still a major football personality around the world and probably Arsenal’s highest profile footballer and therefore won’t have a problem finding a new club in just over a years time, but there’s zero chance of him remaining at Arsenal, even if he took the unlikely course of a pay cut.
There’s no point going over the pros and cons of his time at Arsenal as it’s been done to death. He still has a sizeable percentage of fans who still think that he’s a genius but nowhere near as big as it once was because the majority of Arsenal fans are like me who whilst acknowledging his talent, believe he could and should have done more for the team and I don’t just mean under Emery but under Wenger as well.
I can’t think of a footballer who has disappointed me more than him during his Arsenal career. But I’ll leave it there….
So, offer him a new contract or let him go for free in 2021?
Written by Kev.
Morning Kev, all.
Many questions in your post Kev, a good one it is too.
Auba – sell to the highest bidder
Ozil – same
Mkhitaryan – same
Elneny – same
Mustafi – I’d be tempted to keep but only because of Chambers injury, Luiz age and it being Saliba’s first season. Plus, it seems no decision has been made on Mari and Holding is out of sorts.
However, I know it’s not that easy because Ozil, Auba, Luiz and Mustafi are the authors of their future, not Arsenal.
Mkhitaryan – I’d negotiate a deal with Roma and take the best offer on the table. Push hard and high from the off as we can easily come down if needed. No way would I want Arsenal to be paying any of his wages though.
Sokratis – I’m on the fence but if we sign Mari, I’d sell him unless Mustafi goes.
By the way, I’d like to see what influence Arteta could have on Elneny.
My maths is rubbish. The headline should read seven, not six but hey, I’m only human 😂
Good morning Kev and Rico.
Surely if Aubameyang’s price has dropped, due to the Corvid-19 inspired recession, then it’s logical to suppose his replacement’s price to be similarly reduced.
Under the above circumstances £10 million for Mkhitaryan is not a bad deal, particularly as it would get a high wage off our books.
Getting players to move on when the wages the buying club are offering will not match their existing salary is going to be problematical though.
Morning Rico, all, good questions Kev. I can’t help liking Luiz, think he’s a great character to have around, defended well clearing so many headers in most games but then a few stupid lapses. Without those I can see a really good defender and leader. Trouble is Mustafi, Chambers with his constant shirt pulls, Holding and Sokrates also prone to lapses but we tend to notice less when it’s our younger home players. Probably because we want then to succeed. But we need at least one sound CB, so let’s hope Salina can be that one.
#Saliba
Agree lack of crowds deflating, but if we get going again I think it will feel like the start of a season with great expectations how we will perform and rise, now that Arteta is more on a level footing with rustiness everywhere.
Hi Rico, no you’re right it’s six.
Morning Cicero, Andrew.
Always said the same Cicero. What we get for a Auba or any of our players is irrelevant if we are buying too. It’s no different to the housing market. The only clubs in a good position will be the promoted ones imo.
That’s very true Cicero, I guess I was thinking of the 30 goals and how we replace them?
Shirt pulling, along with raising arms for offside etc are all things which can and should be eradicated Andrew. I’d imagine Arteta had more important things on his mind at the beginning. Either that or he teaches them how to be more like City who seem to get away with so much more than our guys do.
Phew Kev. 😆
If Luiz is to stay and eventually become part of our coaching team, I’d actually make him captain. His attitude since Arteta arrived has been spot on imo.
Hi Rico and All well written Kev I would sell or swap the following
Auba – Mustafi – Mkhitaryan – Maitland Niles – Although I would like to keep Saka it would depend on how much he wants per week and how committed he is to the club
Thanks Andrew, yes I have big expectations of Saliba, I think he is going to be a step up in level – and Arsenal are strongly linked with another St Etienne centre back, who has said he doesn’t want to leave France for another year, so could Arsenal repeat the deal with St Etienne that they agreed for Saliba, that is sign him and loan him back?
It could all come down to finances and how deals are structured?
Arsenal have been linked with a lot of players recently and while that isn’t anything new you just kinda think ‘give me a fecking break’ have you looked outside lately…
Well if Aubameyang does leave this summer Rico and I’d say that that is 70/30 that he does, then the vice captain is Hector Bellerin, but yeah, I’d be happy to see Luiz as skipper.
Thanks Geoff, thanks everyone btw, I wouldn’t disagree with those, but yeah, Saka is a worry.
I’m not sure what discussions there have been with his people, or what other tasty offers are out there for him?
Bakayo may have a lot of very good friends at Arsenal, among the young players he’s grown up with, but in truth he’ll be guided by his family, their needs and especially by his agent, so Arsenal will need to find the right balance between a lucrative deal for Saka that satisfies all those around him but which also doesn’t upset all our other young players and affects the rest of the squad harmony.
Forty five minutes to kick off, Anfield 1989, ITV. Almost as good as White Hart Lane 1971.
Hi Geoff.
I wonder if Saliba is 100% after his few injuries.
Kev, good point re Hector, but I guess he plus all others were Emery’s choice. Mikel needs to opt for a real leader and motivator. Luiz seems to have naturally taken that role.
An Obituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Dead Brilliant!!t
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long
ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing
regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed
to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepchildren;
– I Know My Rights
– I Want It Now
– Someone Else Is To Blame
– I’m A Victim
– Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing
An Obituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Dead Brilliant!!t
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long
ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing
regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed
to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepchildren;
– I Know My Rights
– I Want It Now
– Someone Else Is To Blame
– I’m A Victim
– Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing
An Obituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Dead Brilliant!!t
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long
ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing
regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed
to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepchildren;
– I Know My Rights
– I Want It Now
– Someone Else Is To Blame
– I’m A Victim
– Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing
An Obituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Dead Brilliant!!t
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long
ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing
regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed
to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepchildren;
– I Know My Rights
– I Want It Now
– Someone Else Is To Blame
– I’m A Victim
– Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing
That was brilliant Cicero, it was worth reading a second time and then, well you know. 😉
Well it’s all over now . A few things struck me , just how committed The midfield was and wasn’t it strange to see the keepers picking up the ball .Still boring boring Arsenal
Reminded me of ‘New York’ Cicero. 😆
None of this playing out from the back back then…
The old Frank Sinatra song? Rico. 😉
Morning all,
We have a player from the local A League side running coaching/conditioning sessions for our kids on the weekend simply because he wants to.
No money changes hands, he just loves helping the kids.
Now, this guy is not a marquee player, he’s a tough, honest professional who I’ve loved watching since he started because he gives 100% every time he sets foot on the pitch.
He’s struggling financially because the clubs aren’t paying their players, and as he’s not an Aussie, no welfare assistance is available to him so he is living on his savings.
Talking about it this afternoon, and he’s telling us the Virus situation has been great as he’s been able to meet great people like us and these sessions have shown him what he’d love to do down the track!
Not for a second did he remotely sound like he was complaining, and is so positive about life, it’s infectious!!
I know you all realise this so I’m definitely not trying to lecture anyone but it just shows that even as a professional footballer, life can be pretty tough in these times and the really top class people like this guy deserve a whole lot more!!!
Arsenal is his English team of choice, as well so he just can’t be bad 🙂
Morning All, just listened to a short snippet from Gary Lineker interviewing Ashley Cole for MotD and Cole made the kind of observations that most Arsenal fans who lived through that period would agree with. That is that a great Arsenal team was breaking up and not enough was done to replace the players we were losing and that the culture at Chelsea was more geared to winning than it was at Arsenal. I think that’s probably true to this day.
Of course what he didn’t mention was that he’d agreed initially to stay at Arsenal and that the reason he left was financial due to the Board reneging on the deal he made with Dein.
What struck me also was that he didn’t come across as the brightest bulb in the packet.
😂 Kev.
Plus he was one of the players breaking away…
Morning all…
That’s right Rico, if I also recall he was going to be made club captain, but Hill Wood and co caused the rift and Mourinho took advantage.
Tbh, if you look at the honours he won at Chelsea you’ve gotta admit that he made the right choice in terms of success and finance if not for legacy.
Hiya Kev,
Imagine he and others that won honours elsewhere had stayed, though?
We lost enough players over the years who said they left to win trophies to form a sensational side.
Shame they didn’t show some loyalty and try to help Arsenal win trophies, and apart from Cesc, none of them took a pay cut 🙂
afternoon all!
Football in Portugal and Spain will start soon.
Agree Kev re Cole, he’d have not won much staying at Arsenal. Had the move not been so terribly handled on both sides and had we taken the money rather than Gallas, I don’t think it would have been quite so bad.
Yet a few years later the club make the same mistake with Alexis.
In England soon too Jm.
Today’s question…. If poison passes its sell by date, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous?
I know rico
New post up
Morning