Nasri or £20million?

The question is clearly a gross oversimplification of the complex chain of negotiations involved in football transfers, but many supporters are prepared to believe that Arsène Wenger means what he says and intends to keep Samir Nasri whether he signs a contract extension or not.

Personally I find it hard to believe that the club would let him go on a free in a year’s time when he could add £20m (or thereabouts) to the coffers this summer.

Even so,  if we accept AW’s assertion that Nasri is going nowhere is true, let’s examine the pros and cons on the assumption that he does not intend to sign a new contract with Arsenal.

Pros if Nasri stays

• We would have the services of a top player who has been an integral part of our midfield for another year.
• He could be the difference between us qualifying for the CL or not and the money earned by doing so outweighs the loss of a selling fee.
• We would not be weakening ourselves and strengthening one of our top four rivals by allowing him to go to manu or city.
• We would be sending out an important message to the football world that we won’t be bullied.

Cons if Nasri stays

• We would forego a selling fee reported to be in the region of £20m
• Hopefully we will still have Cesc in addition to Song, Wilshere and Ramsey. Add to that Arshavin, Diaby, Walcott, Rosicky and possibly Frimpong and it would appear that we have an abundance of midfielders.
• He could pick up an injury and miss a large chunk of the season.
• What if he can’t motivate himself such is his disappointment at not being allowed to leave?

Opinions seem to be divided on the issue. I’d be interested to know what the groundswell of opinion among supporters is so please feel free to express your preference by participating in the poll below. The results are open for all to see by clicking on ‘View Results‘

False premise

It is entirely possible that all the speculation is based on a false premise. The exercise is purely hypothetical and the whole furore may have just been engineered by Nasri’s negotiating team to get him the best deal possible. Many will say “sell him as long as we spend the money to buy a top player (defender)”.

I think the only two alternatives the club should consider are:

We do everything to encourage him to stay including a sizeable pay rise and repeatedly tell the world he is not for sale

or,

We sell him even if it is to a top four rival.

A possible outcome could be that he signs a new contract with a buy-out clause that allows him to leave in a year’s time. This way both parties retain their dignity and Arsenal will get a good price in addition to his services for one more year.

The idea of  a ‘gentleman’s agreement as a form of  ‘contract’ seems to have arisen from the circumstances surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from manu. We all know the famous Samuel Goldwyn quote regarding verbal contracts.

I don’t think any top club has ever admitted to striking such a deal which would rely on honour and integrity, both of which are in short supply in the Premiership as Mancini  graphically demonstrated only yesterday. Buy-out clauses (often ludicrously high) are common and may be the norm in contracts with the top players so I would expect any new contract signed by Nasri to include an exit strategy.

I want to keep him and keep him happy. Cesc will almost certainly go back to Barca some time in the next few years and the future of Arsenal’s central midfield may well be in the capable hands of Wilshere and Ramsey, but for the timebeing I want to retain the artistry and experience of Nasri but not at the cost of £20m for one season – that’s too high a price.

Buy Some ……… Players

Written by Loh

Finally, after days of reading various rumours and tabloid stories on Arsenal’s potential transfer targets and the continuous never-ending Cesc and Nasri sagas, we at last, get to hear from Wenger himself on what is exactly happening and to be bluntly honest, it doesn’t sound too promising….

Well the good thing is Wenger has confirmed that he will be fighting hard to keep both Cesc and Nasri. How successful he is remains to be seen.

In the case of Nasri, if what he says is true, and his main motivation is to win honours, then I struggle to see how Wenger can convince him to stay especially with what he had said now on his planned transfer activities (which I’ll talk more later). If Nasri wants money, if rumour is again to be believed, we are offering him up to £110,000 per week now which is probably what he can earn elsewhere. Only difference is he is probably thinking he can earn as much elsewhere, but has a better chance of winning honours and hence, potentially further inflate his wage demand the next time he negotiates a new deal (assuming he will be a key player in his new team)! So the only chance I see of Wenger convincing him to stay will be down to 1 word:- LOYALTY! And sadly, loyalty is a rare virtue in modern football.

As for Fabregas, based on the current situation, I see him as the more likely one of the two to be in an Arsenal jersey come next season mainly because of his long term contract. All indications show that he will not want to tarnish his reputation and relationship with the fans and he will probably not publicly force a move to Barcelona (unlike Dani Alves who I now rank jointly top of my hate list with Evra). However, how the long running soap opera will affect the performance of our captain again remains to be seen. We all know his heart is probably by now, firmly set on returning to Barca although I really can’t see why he wants to move so quickly considering he will more likely than not, end up behind Xavi and Iniesta on the midfield pecking order. So perhaps Wenger can use this again as a reason to convince Cesc to perhaps give Arsenal 1 more year (again).

As I said at the beginning, how successful Wenger will be in trying to convince his 2 star players to stay remains to be seen. And I do agree with the pundits and fellow fans that a statement of intent will need to be made to prove to these players that we mean business! And what better way to do this then to really strengthen the squad and bring in some big name signings. Now unless the Board is telling us a whole load of bull c**p and Wenger is happily playing along with it,  there is money available. However, we are not seeing anyone walking in through the door!

We are led to believe that the Gervinho deal is very very close to finalisation but due to the Alvarez case, I will only believe it when it’s officially announced. Wenger’s statement doesn’t seems to sound too convincing either saying he doesn’t want to give too much details as it usually complicates the deal – a somewhat contradictory statement.

What really annoys me however is the fact that Wenger says that he is now only looking at 1 or 2 more signings!! Counting Gervinho, this means we would have signed only 2 or 3 “big name” players (assuming the next 1 or 2 signings are indeed big names). This again contradicts with the statement he made earlier where he said he will be “extremely active” in the transfer market. Is his earlier statement then misunderstood and being “extremely busy” means all we are doing is identifying players but not tabling a bid to actually get the player in?

Anyway, how is the signing of 1 or 2 more players going to help in trying to convince Cesc and Nasri to stay? All of us know that we are probably 3 players short as of last season to give us a chance of challenging for honours. With Clichy gone, to me, that makes at least 4 as I am really not convinced that Gibbs is even remotely ready to be our first choice leftback. Many agree that he should be given a loan stint first to get more experience before he is deemed ready. But Wenger seems to see Gibbs as ready and is now unlikely to go for a replacement which means the £7 million we get will probably end up as profits on the balance sheet and not reinvested! This to me is a major risk that Wenger is taking but he may see something  in Gibbs that I don’t.

Back to the issue of “1 or 2 signings”, we know we seriously need a new centreback so that’s probably 1 of the signings Wenger is referring to. Question now is who? The Cahill story seems to be getting a little stale now with Coyle stating that no bids have been received (how the tabloids is getting info on us offering Lansbury, Vela or Bendtner as part of the deal and how close are we in geting Cahill to me is a mystery unless you can buy a player without putting in a bid or you can do it without the team’s manager knowing it). There’s really not much news at all on the Samba end apart from Blackburn bidding for a new defender. Dann seems to be heading to Stoke now so who are we expecting to see in an Arsenal shirt? Hopefully it’s not another unknown French player as that really doesn’t make any statement of intent at all!

So, excluding a CB that we definitely need (assuming Wenger also sees things our way, which he has a tendency not to), is our other “possible” signing someone that we have been linked to? A player like Mata or Vidal or Benzema or perhaps it’s just Oxlade Chambelain? The first 3 names will probably makes us happier rather than the signing of yet again another untested youngster but knowing Wenger, a youngster might well be the favourite here!

But is 2 new signings really enough? Wenger had said 1 or 2, so we might even end up with 1! In my opinion, it’s NOT enough. Where is the DM that we so crave? Where is another proven striker that will complement or cover for RVP? And I haven’t even mentioned the need to find some quality squad players to replace those that are definitely not performing although our inability to offload these players now is fast becoming a major stumbling block.

How is Wenger going to convince Cesc and Nasri even if he said he is going to fight hard to keep them with a plan that sounds something like “we are buying players to strengthen but the core of the team will still be the same as management has complete faith in the existing team to finally wake up and deliver when it matters!”

I am sorry Mr. Wenger, if this is your transfer plan and your plan to keep your 2 big players, I am afraid you are going into a nuclear war with just your bare fists and a broken sword.

I have been trying very hard to be positive. I have been telling myself that things will change and Wenger knows what he is doing. I have been hoping that behind all these rumours, Wenger and Ivan are doing something preparing for some major surprises for us and one fine day, I’ll get to read the announcement that we have signed some top top quality players.

However, when I read Wenger’s statement, I just couldn’t help but to write this long post to  express my frustration and air my opinion.

Lastly, in Wenger, I probably still place my trust (after all he has led us to glory), but please Mr. Wenger, heed the advice of us fans. You might be great, you may have revolutionalised English football when you first arrived and you have unearthed many rough diamonds and turned them into precious stones, but the world is changing.

Things are not the same now. Many teams are cherry picking our young talents and it’s no longer so easy to find rough diamonds … So please BUY SOME F***ING PLAYERS!! And I do mean big name players!!!

Arsenals’ attraction to genuine World Stars?

Written by Harry

Last week that fine gent and upstanding journo, Martin Samuel, claimed that Arsenal can no longer attract genuine world stars, is this right?

For a start lets be honest have we actually ever signed someone at the top of their game?

Bergkamp was a truly world class player, but when we signed him, he was in a massive dip, the top teams at the time AC Milan, Madrid just were not interested……..

Vieira was unheard of in the reserves at AC Milan, Henry similar to Bergkamp hadn’t quite made it in Italy leaving the Old Lady in Turin without making his mark (needs to give Rooney lessons there).

The best ever……..

Overmar’s was a massive risk with his knees, no one else wanted to take the risk. Reyes was still very raw, as was Van Persie and Nasri. Rosicky was grabbed before he made his name at the world cup in 2006……..Unfortunately injury has stalled his career……..

Fabregas was taken under the cover of night from the Barca Creche, sneaked out in a laundry trolley…..which has been wheeled in and out again twice this summer with Bellerin and Toral-Harper been snaffled away………

So who and what is a genuine world star?

Messi, Ronaldo (Both), Buffon, Del Piero, Rivaldo, Maldini, Carlos and Zizou all of these are or were world stars, could we have ever signed one of these? Maybe if they were in the youth sides of their teams, but not at their peaks.  Realistically there are not that many world stars that move to clubs of our standing (got be honest with ourselves), they move between the big powers in Europe, the Milans, Juve, Barca and Madrid.  Now we have the wannabees who have muscled in with their oil enriched wallets, money talks and ours generally just whispers at best….

In  the late 80’s and into the 90’s it was Serie A, that had the money and no one really could compete,  Ruud Gullit, Van Basten, Cafu, Baresi, all went where the money and weather was better…….

Even as the Premier league gained power, not many world stars at their peak came until the real money was thrown in the ring by Roman, but even then, still the world stars were seen going to the galacticos of Madrid, Barca but not the premiership household names…..

Even Man United and Liverpool haven’t signed that many world stars at their peak, have they? Veron at 26million, Berbatov at 30million, the price doesn’t make them world class stars………Rooney was snatched at 16 from Everton.  Liverpool snared Torres from Athletico Madrid, but at the time he wasn’t truly world class, he still had a bit to go………Ok they have spent more money than us on players, but when have we been in awe of their signings?

If United get Sneijder I would for once be jealous, he is a world class player…….Liverpool have spent 20million on Henderson…………say no more on that one…..

Samuel was in essence just trying to make headlines and as usual by the press, having a dig at Arsenal and Wenger, success breads contempt and people are swayed by the human trait of envy, which sees them seeking to bring people down.  We do it so successfully in this country, build people up and then enjoy knocking them down, the “sandcastle affect”, what was more fun building it or knocking it down?

So I personally don’t expect any real marquee signing any time soon, Juan Mata would a big signing, Benzema would a massive signing, are either genuine world stars, not sure, Karim is close to be but has struggled at the Bernabeu, similar to Bergkamp or Henry , but I don’t expect them anyway……

Karim, in? Unlikely……..

Anyhow back to the here and now as the lads board the plane today to Asia, minus Bendtner and Almunia who are in talks with unnamed clubs. There was a shock boarder after his end of season outburst, with Denilson sneaking on through the luggage conveyor.  Nasri is on board so Wenger has a week to talk with him away from the UK, hopefully his team mates will convince him to stay,  but Cesc was left behind whilst he is having his hamstrings fine tuned……..

Gervinho, missed the plane due to visa issues with his signing, but will eventually find his pen and sign, protracted and annoyingly too public, lets keep things under wraps better, until signed. Let the press fabricate the dross…that leads to, too much line dancing and knee jerking………

So who else will come in?

After Wenger finally spoke on Friday, don’t expect too many more, I expect maybe a centre back and then another if we are lucky. There is a lot of youth getting promoted this season I feel……Gibbs will be the No 1 LB, Lansbury, Bartley, Miquel and Frimpong  amongst others, expect to see a lot more of them in the Emirates Cup…..That’s where our answers will come from……..

Cahill, one of just a few coming in?

If at least Nasri stays, then Gervinho,  one of Cahill or Samba (or maybe another CB) and perhaps a midfielder will be it, we weren’t that far away, so I don’t think we need that much, nor does Wenger…….

If we do lose Nasri and Fabregas, then we would need one big signing, perhaps that might be a world star, unlikely though, that’s not and has never been our style.

Wenger has a big big big summer, I for one will wait and see what unfolds, allow for a settling period for the team and then at December, see just where we are at……

Quietly optimistic, realistically restrained, but a Gooner to the core forever……

Softly Softly Catchee Monkey: Wenger Secretly Moving for Bale?

Something is going on at Arsenal.

Behind the scenes there is plotting and planning on a scale that has not been seen at the club for over a decade.

Of course I have no proof of this: it’s pure speculation just like 99.9% of what you read in the newspapers and in the Arsenal blogosphere (all sound and fury signifying nothing, to quote old Bill Shakespeare).

But call it a feeling in my water, a tingle from the old war wound, the way the tea leaves are lying at the bottom of my cup: to my mind there’s no doubt – Arsene is up to something.

I really think he is going to pull a transfer rabbit out of the hat – something to surprise and delight the Arsenal faithful and to stick two metaphorical fingers up at his critics.

What could it be?

A secret move for the N17 MonkeyMan himself? He would be an ideal replacement for either Clichy or Nasri. It would be the greatest coup since we landed Big Sol.

Or a marquee signing like Ibrahimovic or Falcao? I know the conventional wisdom is that we don’t ‘do’ marquee signings, but I wouldn’t rule it out this summer.

Maybe it could be a big triple announcement of quality players like Gervinho, Cahill and Mata.

Whatever it is, something’s brewing and I am eager to see it.

So far all the press coverage has been about some of our young, overpaid players who, having failed to deliver when the chips were down, now want to move away for money, glory, or both.

Brats leaving a sinking ship?

Not really, because the good ship Arsenal is a tough old bird and she has weathered bigger storms than this. She will still be afloat long after those players’ careers have sunk into obscurity.

But the concerted media onslaught to incorrectly suggest that we are a club in crisis and facing an exodus takes a hard toll on us supporters, who so far have had a rough summer.

First we got a glimpse of the new away kit. When I saw that strange pattern and colour I thought it was a pigment of my imagination. But no. It really was our away strip.

Then there was the re-ignition of the Cesc-to-Barcelona saga, with all its tedious, morale-sapping predictability.

Then Samir Nasri got kidnapped by that odious scumbucket Patrice Evra on the Riviera (if you don’t believe me, just consider that an anagram of Evra’s name is “Rare Captive”, which is exactly what he had in Sami). Evra proceeded to pour poison in his ear and suggest he should leave Arsenal if he wanted to win things.

Then we had to look on as other clubs (Liverpool, Man United and Man City) appeared to be acting fast and decisively in the transfer window.

Meanwhile at Arsenal… nothing.

I can understand fans’ frustration with the radio silence coming out of our club, but we ought to have more faith. Arsene Wenger has repeatedly said he will be active in the market this summer and I believe he will be. He has known for a very long time that Clichy was leaving – do you really think he has not planned a replacement?

He clearly wants Nasri to stay – but not at any cost. If Samir leaves I would be disappointed, but not devastated. As many have said before me, he had a good half a season and was poor when it really mattered at the business end of things. He’s a quality player, but not as good as he appears to think he is. In fact I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if a move away turned out to be a disaster for him and he was back playing in France in two years time.

If we can get £20m+ for a player with one year left on his contract then that’s pretty good business in my book.

In the mean time I’m prepared to wait it out and let Arsene and Ivan Gazidis do things in their own way: quietly, purposefully and intelligently. I am sure they are doing it – it just remains to be seen what ‘it’ is.

But if you are of the “we won’t sign anyone, we never do” persuasion, get your napkin, knife and fork out and prepare for a big helping of humble pie.

RockyLives

How many central midfielders does Arsenal need?

Written by TotalArsenal

The tabloids are full of gossip about Cesc as well as Nasri leaving. Most of us know better than to trust any of the red tops, but say it would actually happen. We would get between £50- 60m in the bank, and then what?

Well, how many central midfielders do we need? The next generation is ready to take over: Song, Jack, Rambo, Diaby and then there are Arshavin, Lansbury and Frimpong, who for different reasons can all be drafted into the two central spots.

If Cesc leaves, we might play more regularly 4-4-2 again, meaning we only need two central midfielders: one defence minded and one attack minded. The pairings of Song and Jack, Song and Arshavin, Jack and Rambo or Song and Diaby etc, all sound mouth-watering to me. The only thing we would be missing is experience in any of the combinations that does not include Arshavin. Yet Arshavin does not seem to be the sort of player who can give 100% focus and dedication to a central midfielder role during a game, let alone a whole season. So that could leave us with a problem as experience in the centre of midfield is essential. However, if we play 4-4-2 we could make RvP captain, play him in the hole (with Bendtner or Chamakh upfront), so he would be closer to the midfielders and lead and guide them where and when necessary. TV could become our deputy captain and even be our DM at times. Both RvP and TV could focus on leadership support to the midfield, if and when required.

Of course, I’d like us to keep either Cesc or Nasri, as it is always hard to get over the loss of two players in one area – in this case the midfield – in one season. Our additional fat/riches are in the central midfield positions, and the money we can make from selling one or two players should be used to strengthen in other areas. In fact, I feel we need to sell either Cesc or Nasri to make space: if we are not selling anybody in that area this season, we could start blocking the further development of Jack, Rambo, Diaby and Song, as well as Frimmpong and Lansbury, who are behind those first four in the queue. The money we would get from the sales can be used to add to our transfer budget, and buy us a quality winger, another CB and maybe a LB.

If I were on the BoD of Arsenal, I would want to sell either Cesc or Nasri, both for financial and sporting reasons. Even if we decide to let them both go (which is highly unlikely), I can see some positives coming from this. Rather than all the talk about a crisis, this is actually a great opportunity to make a few positive changes, whilst sticking to our unique and fantastic philosophy.

Arsenal Pounded out of the Top Four

Some transfer rumours are pure fabrication, some are speculation and a very few have genuine substance – having said that, it is unwise to dismiss all the current stories surrounding Arsenal players when they stall over signing new contracts and are a year away from leaving on a free.

Make no mistake, Cesc wants to go to Barca and Clichy and Nasri are looking elsewhere for big money (and possibly the notion that they may be more likely to win trophies). I believe there is truth that manu have shown interest in Nasri, city are looking to buy Clichy and are prepaed to offer Nasri silly money, and pool are also interested in Clichy.

It is likely that all of those clubs can and will offer a better deal to our players than Arsenal will table. The top four is now a case of perm any 4 out of the top five as Liverpool have shown their intent by spending big and spending early. Three out of our four rivals are looking to cherry pick players from our squad with only the canny new manager at chelski biding his time.

We are becoming a feeder club for the other top clubs and that may mean that the miracle of CL qualification that we have achieved on a minimal budget over past years is coming to an end.

Why? Well I think there are three main reasons.

1. We are being outpriced.

2. Some players have run out of patience, they are entering the peak years of their playing careers and want to taste success

3. The aura of Arsène Wenger’s managerial brilliance borne from the days of the Invincibles is wearing thin.

Where does that leave Arsenal and Arsène Wenger? If we sign Gary Cahill, some of my faith will be restored as there are plenty of cheaper options out there and we will have chosen to pay the extra for proven PL quality.

Gervinho looks like a good player, but is he any better as a striker than Bendtner? His price tag and past goals per game record would suggest not. We can only consider ourselves as moving forward if the players we bring in are better than those leaving (and not potentially in 3 years time) and in the case if Cesc and Nasri, that would be a very tall order.

Losing the Carling Cup was a humiliation. To restore belief (not just talk about it) we have to make our mark in the transfer market especially if we let big players go.

Our manager’s reputation has changed in the perception of many from a visionary genius to an over-cautious spendthrift stuck in his ways and if that perception has entered the minds of our players then we are in trouble.

Arsenal may now be being viewed by potential new signees as the most effective way of showcasing themselves to one of the ‘big’ clubs – “one good season at Arsenal and Barca will come in for me”

I know I’m going to be branded as negative, ungrateful, delusional and just plain wrong, but please don’t bother listing all of AW’s achievements, I am well aware and profoundly grateful for all he has done, but now he has to show that he can compete in this new era of football.

Like it or not, our position has changed in relation to those around us and we need to rethink and regroup, or we have to accept the inevitable that the Holy Grail of CL qualification will fall from our grasp.

Written by Rasp

Arsenal sign Baconario Sarnielli

Written by Jamie

I am brewing a pot of coffee, steam rising. I have bread product of some kind with Bacon. I’ll be honest, I’ve lost track which one. I still don’t know what is wrong with Bacon between two slices of bread but now it’s all focaccia and ciabatta and I couldn’t tell the difference if you laced one with a month old Estonian herring.

Another thing worth a question is this, when did butter become an optional extra when you are getting a bacon sandwich? Do you want butter? Of course I do, if it’s not too much trouble. No proper bread, optional butter, no red sauce, in future just do me a couple of rashers of bacon and leave it at that.

Of course I want butter, the greasier the better, dripping out of the side mixed with the red sauce.

Today, I dream of Spain, of America, or frankly just about anywhere where sea is lapping to shore. Where I can sit like Derek Trotter in a beach bar drinking more cocktails than James Bond.

Such fantasies while frustrating are slightly more appealing than the alternative. Which is, in reality sitting at my desk getting neurotic about Arsenal’s transfer activity or rather, the lack of it.

If I were on holiday, I wouldn’t be sitting there doing that. I would be in a bar, on a beach, having lunch, exploring an old cathedral, doing a tour of a football ground.

I would even rather be in a Waterpark, Go-Karting possibly even at the same time but I wouldn’t be subjected to this.

If on holiday I would occasionally find myself looking at a two day old report from Steve Stammers in the Daily Mirror while consuming a big cake and cooling VAT looking at a magnificent vista. As if i were some amatuer James Richardson.

Instead, it’s Coffee, Bacon and a Windows vista.

Every TV show yesterday showed a beach, even the Grand Prix.

I look out over London Wall and the day looks lethargic. People move slowly in the heat outside the Museum of London, almost slow motion, Almost as slow as Arsenal’s Summer. A summer of big change, so we are told. Not one player in or one player out by 27^th June and don’t give me any of that Jenkinson stuff, i mean players that will definately have an impact next season.

First we are signing Gervinho, then we are not, then we have signed him, now we haven’t even made a bid.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m right behind Le Gaffer but the time it takes for us to sign a player does gives me the ache.

Stars form and burst, giant pandas mate and we still can’t conclude a deal.

We are like a 16 year old geek of the class trying to get his next door neighbours phone number. The President of Lille says we made contact but made no offer. It makes it sound like we rang up and got shy, giggled, said “Gervinho” and hung up.

I watch a lot of European football and I have seen Gervinho play half a dozen times. However despite this and him having the most ridiculous centre parting since “Saved by the Bell” was on TV, a month ago I couldn’t have picked out Gervinho if he, Scott Parker, Chris Samba and Juan Mata had done a conga past me singing “The Locomotion”.

That isn’t to say that he is not a good player.

I watched reports from around the world on the news this morning. War, torture, famine and not one word about Arsenal, Not one word. Selfish BBC.

This summer however for Family reasons, some work reasons and some financial reasons a holiday in June or July or even August is out of the question.

There is nothing quite as frustrating as being told you can’t go to Barcelona when all you want to do is hang out on the beach in Barcelona. Ask El Capitan.

Last year I went away in late November, it wasn’t easy catching the games abroad in November. You invairiably end up in a back street Irish bar sat next to some guy who came for a holiday in 1982 and never went back.

“I had trials” he will say, then you are subjected to two hours of the “I could have been a contender, but the booze, the girls, knee injury, blah,blah blah” speech. By the time Wilshere pops in the fourth at Villa Park you are reaching for the Tequilas.

The overwhelming point is this. Summer is for holidays, Winter is for football.

Holiday resorts in November are full of sadness and storm clouds and sitting around looking at Newsnow in June doesn’t look a lot differnet.

It isn’t going to do you any good come the fixture pile up.

So if you can’t get away and I can’t, then get your sun tan oil and get to your nearest park or pub by the river, or your back garden. Pour yourself a Pina Colada and read a two day old copy of the Daily Mirror and for a moment, just a moment, you might be able to convince yourself that your not addicted.

So Happy Holidays even if they are, only in your mind!

Arsène makes greatest signing of the transfer window – Guess who?

Written by Wigan Gooner

I’ll not muck about – it’s Pat Rice.

My reasoning for this statement is as follows, Arsène is facing a summer of upheaval like he has never known at Arsenal. There could be more player movement at Arsenal that I have ever seen in all of my years. Add that to even more expectation, pressure and a new pre-season routine and it is a very different Arsenal for 2011-2012.

The biggest signing was to retain the services of Pat Rice for another year because even if he is known (in some quarters, not my own) as a yes man he has vast experience as No 2 at Arsenal and he has the respect of the squad.

If I can build on that for a second, Arsène is a hands-on coach. He likes to tweak, push and work with his player’s every single day. Every day working to iron out their imperfections on the training pitch and working like that with a squad of 30-odd first-team squad player’s is a massive drain on resource and he would be unable to complete a single training session like that.

Pat Rice and Boro Primorac let him do it because whilst he is working and talking with the player’s they are running the drills and setting up the practice matches. Arsène is their Father, with Pat Rice and Boro Primorac the coaches.

Whilst we can all see the potential improvement a shake-up in the backroom staff might bring, can we afford the upheaval? Haven’t we got enough going on? The settling in period and changes of routine when we are already shaking the Arsenal Castle to the very core foundations? When star players are considering leaving for a few thousand pounds?

He will be buying in fresh players and these players need a steady stable ship to join. Stability aids adaption and London Colney is certainly different to most clubs. Pat Rice is one massive, all-important cog in the Colney machine and without him, I think Arsène would be in more trouble than he’d care to admit.

WG

Arsenal Fans Are Being Misled

Here are some facts:

• Arsène Wenger is dithering in the transfer market.
• He is paralysed by indecision because so many top players are threatening to leave.
• Arsenal’s main rivals, by contrast, are acting decisively and boldly.
• Highly rated players will not join Arsenal because we have not won a trophy for six years.
• Arsenal will never spend ‘big’ money on a new signing.

I know that these are facts because I have read them in the newspapers. The Mail, the Express, the Sunday Times and of course the down market tabloids. They have all published variations on all of the above statements.

The journalists responsible are professional reporters. They’ll have done their journalism training at Darlington, Cardiff or Westminster (the most established journo training centres) or at one of the in-house schemes run by some newspaper groups.

They’ll have started out with great dreams and ideals of being a top sports writer. They’ll have worked their way up, for the most part, through local papers and news agencies, covering non-league games on rainy, windswept pitches in front of tiny crowds before moving on to the lower divisions and finally getting their big break in Fleet Street, writing about the EPL.

And now they produce these ‘facts’.

For crying out loud, they should be ashamed of themselves.

If these are facts, they’re the sort that would do Joseph Goebbels proud.

Goebbels, for those who don’t know their World War Two history, was the chief propagandist for the Third Reich. Up until 1939 his main narrative was that Germany’s intentions were entirely peaceful. And we know how that turned out.

That’s what propagandists do. They develop a narrative and stick to it. Every event, every outcome, every statement is re-positioned so that it fits the narrative, even when it patently doesn’t, until the narrative has served its purpose.

Arsenal may not exactly be facing the forces of Nazism, but we are facing a propaganda onslaught orchestrated by Fleet Street and other media outlets like TalkSport.

At the start of last season the embryonic idea took form that Arsenal were headed for continuing failure under Arsene Wenger (not least because he allegedly hates to spend money on quality players). As the season wore on this form solidified and became accepted wisdom.

The fact that Arsenal’s transfer activity was severely curtailed for five years because of the cost of the new stadium (and that the manager miraculously kept us competitive in that time while making a net profit on transfers) was gradually written out of the story.

Instead the ‘facts’ became that Arsene was a skinflint; that he was scared of buying established stars in case he couldn’t control them; that he persisted with bringing through young players not because of financial constraints but because he was ‘obsessed’ with ‘project youth’.

There may even have been grains of truth in some elements of this (certainly Arsene has seemed attracted to the idea of creating a squad of young players who grow up together playing a particular brand of football). But essentially a position that was easily explained by the circumstances (lack of money due to building a new stadium) was reframed as being about something else – namely the supposed character flaws of the manager.

The team’s implosion in last season’s run-in added further fuel to this narrative, which is why we have arrived at the point today where our summer transfer activity has been written off by the press before it has even begun.

Barely a week into the transfer window (and with more than two and a half months still to run), the Fleet Street concensus is that we’ve blown it. They tell us that because we haven’t gone out and hurled 15, 17, 20 million quid at whichever over-rated English player the journalists have decided is this week’s great big hope, we are dead in the water.

Let’s not bother turning up next season because these professional reporters have already decided that we’re heading for mid table.

Here’s just one small example of the reporting. I don’t mean to single out Rob Draper from the Mail, but it happens to be the most recent one I’ve read:

“Equally, should Fabregas eventually move, Wenger’s tactics in the transfer market will again come under the microscope. While Manchester United and Liverpool were swiftly into their squad-strengthening stride and Chelsea are poised to pick up the pace, Wenger risks being left standing in the stalls again as the big names head elsewhere.”

The bit that makes me laugh the most is “…and Chelsea are poised to pick up the pace…”

This illustrates exactly the issue of fitting the facts to suit your preconceived narrative. Despite Chelsea winning nothing and despite their manager having been sacked and despite them spending 50 million pounds in January on a striker who can’t score and despite the fact that they have done less than us in the market so far this summer, there is no suggestion that they risk “being left standing in the stalls again.” Oh no. They are “poised to pick up the pace.”

Make the facts fit the narrative. There is no anti-Chelsea narrative at the moment so their transfer inactivity can be overlooked.

Frankly it’s just lazy. As was all the triumphalism over Man Utd beating us to Phil Jones’s signature and supposedly proving that promising young players would rather go to Old Trafford than the Emirates… oh, wait a minute… that deal is not even done. Top quality reporting there, lads.

Unlike many Gooners, I don’t believe that most of the sports hacks have an agenda against Arsenal (although some surely have). It’s just that the media move like a school of anchovies. When they change direction they do so as one and it happens in an instant. Pack mentality, if you like (apologies for the mixed metaphor).

But the result is the same: we, the supporters, are being misled by what these journalists write.

So what conclusions can we draw? Well, for me it’s a simple one: let’s not swallow this slapdash, thoughtless reporting and regurgitate it in our own forums. Even when it’s incorrect it can still cause damage and there is a real danger of the narrative becoming real if it’s hammered home hard enough and if enough people fall for it. That is the aim of propaganda.

And finally, I would ask those reporters who find themselves in the privileged position of being able to write about our national sport for a living to remember the ideals with which they entered their profession.

Don’t give in to the laziness; don’t just follow the pack.

Stand up and say: “I am not an anchovy.”

RockyLives

Arsenal…….Gooners or Goner’s…….?

Written by Harry

In the midst of one of the biggest summers that I can remember since 97, many questions need answering, Where did it all go wrong? Whose fault is it? Is Wenger the right Man for the job? Which players actually play for the shirt? What are our weaknesses, the list is endless……..

Endless reviews of the seasons have highlighted the moments that the season went wrong. All along and also seasons gone past, there have been moments where our inner belief has floundered, this season for me it eroded alarmingly at St James Park, after which the team then seemed to always believe they had a mistake in them and this hampered them continually………

Rather than drag out the pain that still manifests within all of us gooners and do a full review of the actual games, as we all know that we surely threw away a very easy title win.

There is no arrogance in that statement, its clear to all that we did, but fair play to old red face, Shrek and his team mates, they managed to play with a steel and belief that we clearly lack, they played as if they knew they never get caught albeit with huge portions of luck thrown in, shame for Giggsy he didn’t have the same luck in his private life in not getting caught……

Anyway according to the hordes of mass press ranks, we will be fighting mid table mediocrity and be lucky to stay out of the relegation zone, mighty Arsenal are in crisis, players are leaving in their droves…….

So lets look at all the players who have played for us this season and whether they should stay as a Gooner or whether they should be a Goner………….

Keepers:

Sczcesny: A legend in the making, got his chance due to Fabianski’s injuries and Almunia’s propensity for clangers. A youngster with supreme confidence, should be a firm fixture in the squad for years to come, he will have competition for the No1 spot. Needs to sort out his distribution which is a major weakness. GOONER

Fabianski: Old flappy was just starting to win the crowd over when he had a setback with his shoulder and he was out for the season. A very capable keeper, great shot stopper and will push Chez all the way, rated by the their mutual polish coach as the better keeper.  GOONER

Almunia: Horrendous season, needs to leave for himself and Arsenal, he is a good keeper who has lost his way, he couldn’t make the step up and needs to rediscover himself at a lower level. GONER

Mannone: On loan at Hull and injured, has potential. GOONER

Lehmann: Came in, in an emergency situation. Proved he can play at this level and seems tempted to come out of retirement permanently. Has a winning mentality and his experience would be invaluable for the young poles, although would be surprised if he stays. GONER

Defenders:

 

Sagna:  Solid player who had a good season overall, played with niggling injuries, a Trojan without doubt. Needs to improve his crossing. GOONER

Clichy: Athletic and devastating at full flight on the attack, poor crossing lets him down. But his defending is naïve at best, positionally inept and has a fragility about his confidence, can panic at the slightest sign of pressure. Wenger has tried, but maybe it is time to let him go. Won’t sign contract, am I bothered? Not really, sell. GONER

 

Vermaelen: The biggest miss this season by a country mile, scores goals, defends like a warrior and has steel about him. GOONER

NB: TV6 highlights the need to improve our medical facilities and personnel.

Djourou: Mixed bag this season, always liked and rated him, he is solid and dependable player perhaps who has been hampered by injuries, but he does also have a fragility and a tendency to make mistakes under pressure. Next season is massive for him anymore errors of note and he will struggle to make it at Arsenal. GOONER

Squillaci: I believe at times unfairly blamed, but he didn’t inspire confidence when at the heart of our defence and with belief been key, perhaps he isn’t a risk worth continuing with. GONER

Koscienly: For me, forget the CC mistake, he had a great season and has shown immense promise, he had a messi pocket when Barca came to town. Brilliant man marker and reads the game well, pushes on and supports attacks well. A great back up DM as well. GOONER

Eboue: I have put him as a defender (arsenal.com have him as a midfielder), although he covers  midfield as well. Has a tendency to play the fool once too often, but he is versatile and is a good cover for Sagna. I would keep him: GOONER

Miquel: Only played a couple of times, shown great promise. GOONER

Gibbs: Massively hampered by injuries, Great hope for him and we all hope he will make the step up and claim the left back slot, is he ready for the level of consistency needed? Not sure about that, but he is a great back up and cup player for me, its up to him now. GOONER

Traore: Been away at Juve on loan, if clichy goes, perhaps he could fight with Gibbs for a spot? I would keep if no one else came in, such as Baines….GOONER (Maybe out on loan)

Midfield:

Song: Overall he has come along way since his dark days at Fulham, and he has become a rock.  But if we are all honest he had an inconsistent season. Seemed to drop his head when things went wrong. GOONER.

Wilshere: Stunning season from the little maestro, Young Player of the season, has bite and determination to go with his talent. Stood toe to toe with Xavi and didn’t look out of place. Wenger was right to disagree with his U21 involvement this summer. The big question now is will he maintain his levels, up his levels further and handle the expectations that go with it? GOONER

Ramsey: Only played at the back end of the season due to the horrific injury sustained at the UFC in Stoke. Has shown already in a handful of matches he looks like he will return and fulfil his promise, unlike sadly Eduardo who didn’t. GOONER

Diaby: Enigmatic player who divides the faithful more so than most. On his day he can destroy and dominate opponents, but powerful displays are as common as powderpuff ones, where he has a tendency to throw away possession. We cannot make wholesale changes in one go, for me has one season left to prove himself worthwhile. GOONER.

Denilson: What can I say? Has a over sized opinion of himself, had so much promise and might still make a name for himself, just not at ours, won’t be missed bye bye. GONER

Frimpong: Injured at the start of last season and missed the campaign, will compete with Song, has immense potentialm, should play a lot of cup matches. GOONER.

Eastmond: Doesn’t and has never impressed me one bit, weak at best. Go on loan, toughen up or move on preferably. GONER

Lansbury: Had an impressive loan stay at Norwich, but strangely had to come off the bench a lot. Had started the season with us and scored at the spuds in the CC. Much expected, behind the curve due to long term injury in previous seasons. Big season, should be in the squad. GOONER

JET: Too versatile for his own good, has a suspect attitude, but has an abundance of talent. Should stay at ours and play in the Cup matches and have his attitude curbed by Wenger. GOONER

Arshavin: So disappointing, has the talent to destroy defences. Yes he has more assists than others and does score the odd goal, but he is playing at 70%, more to give (proven in 2^nd half against United). Would prefer a more central role. Worth keeping, just if he truly wants to prove himself the great player he can be, if Nasri and Fab do leave, he can play the central creative role. GOONER.

Rosicky: Finally has overcome his long term absence to play a fair number of games, expectations are high and failed to really grasp his chance. A favourite of mine, squad player now, would keep around for experience or allow to leave if he wants: GOONER

Nasri: A dazzling first half of the season curtailed by injury, came back but couldn’t see us over the line. Wants more money and is flirting with United via Evra. It is imperative we keep him, this reminds me of the Flamini / Diarra situation where we lost both. Pay him the 110k if necessary. Must stay at all costs. GOONER

Fabregas: Thanks for the memories, never reached his top level this season, maybe in 2 or 3 games at best. His heart is somewhere else and to be honest I understand, just disappointed that he wasn’t true to himself on the pitch this season. If he did stay I would be only happy, but only if he truly wants to stay, which he clearly doesn’t. GONER

Attackers:

Van Persie: Without doubt our most prized possession, more influential than Fabregas, fights and gives his all for his team. Outstanding scoring run at the end of the season, only down side is the injury prone situation. For me is absolutely world class. GOONER

Bendtner: The self proclaimed Danish Pele, has talent but seems to over complicate situations for me, has been played out of position which doesn’t help, works harder than credited for, but waste easy chances at times. If he does move on I see him been a success, so should we persevere? Either he goes or Chamakh? Had too many chances for me. GONER

Chamakh: Great start to the season, had confidence dented by RVP return, never challenged him by making most of chances when he came on, seemed scared to shoot at times. Worth hanging onto just, 2^nd season improvement beckons……. GOONER

Walcott: A better season than many would give him credit for, injuries again have hampered him, but when he plays he can be devastating if played to his strengths. Would prefer a more central role. No longer a kid or just potential, needs to dominate games. GOONER

Vela: The Mexican wonder boy has faltered and taken a step back when he should be dazzling us with his undoubted skills. Went on loan to WBA and they played him from the bench, although he scored a couple. Bring back and give one more chance. GOONER

There are many other youth players I could have added to the list, but I have used the squad list on Arsenal.com. Some long term contracts have been signed by Afobe, Aneke, Henderson amongst others…………..

So moving on, in my humble opinion, should be Almunia, Clichy, Squillaci, Denilson, Bendtner, Eastmond and sadly Fabregas, which should suit their desires as most of them have actually stated that they want to move on. So that’s 7 minimum out of the doors……..

In Wenger, we must continue to hold faith and back him to make the necessary changes and manage this situation with the player’s unrest; in already we have Jenkinson and some more Barca products, is that sensible?

In my next waffle I will analyse what we need and what there is available out there…..?

Harry KB……