Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

Jaafa

Just a thought here. Is it just me or do we have no good set piece takers anymore? I mean when the likes of Henry, Pires or Ljungberg used to line up to take a free or corner you felt there was a genuine goal scoring opportunity from it. Now it feels like we're just running through the motions when Theo or whoever else takes the set piece.

SweepTheLeg

Jaafa wrote: »

Just a thought here. Is it just me or do we have no good set piece takers anymore? I mean when the likes of Henry, Pires or Ljungberg used to line up to take a free or corner you felt there was a genuine goal scoring opportunity from it. Now it feels like we're just running through the motions when Theo or whoever else takes the set piece.

Santi!

greendom

Jaafa wrote: »

Just a thought here. Is it just me or do we have no good set piece takers anymore? I mean when the likes of Henry, Pires or Ljungberg used to line up to take a free or corner you felt there was a genuine goal scoring opportunity from it. Now it feels like we're just running through the motions when Theo or whoever else takes the set piece.

That would be another good reason for bringing in Cabaye

batistuta9

Awesomeness wrote: »

Doesnt really do us any good considering the squad is already gone. Highly doubt they will have someone fly out to turkey later this evening

yeah not for tomorrow but there's a second leg...

Marty McFly

So Sevilla have confirmed they rejected a 12.8 million pound offer from a club I'd say it has to be us.

Arsenal and Monaco are being linked with him he has reported release clause of 20 million. Had it been Monaco they would have met the 20 million straight off, only Arsenal would go in with a low ball offer on a player with a reasonable release clause.

overpronator

Marty McFly wrote: »

Why? That's a ridiculous statement. Did you even watch the video?

He said patience at the begining of the summer when he like many thought we were going to do the business. The amount of people jumping on his back is plain stupid and doesn't shine a light favourably on a lot of fans.

The end of the day he is a fan and a member of the AST who want's nothing but the best for the club.

As the spokseman of the AST he compromised his office by becoming an indirect mouthpiece and lackey for people within the club this summer. They duped him completely and this has damaged the credibility of the AST as a result. Its ok that they took a couple of the more troublesome bloggers (Le Grove) in with that same ploy but he should have known better as the head of an independent supporters organisation.
He is a relentless self publicist and have heard that he wont allow his personal twitter account to be differentiated from that of the AST who dont actually have one. I don't know how many times I heard him on the radio/tv/online media over the summer pushing the patience/big signings mantra which he has been fed from up on high. He also gave credence to the supposed training ground bustup between Wenger and Bould earlier in the year by agreeing with Amy Lawrence that he had heard similar, best interests of the club at heart? Why did he give credibility to a story that developed into a sh1tstorm?

Furthermore the AST go and release a knee jerk statement after the Villa game questioning the managers supposed new contract, an issue that hasn't been to the forefront in the press since the start of the summer. Previously they have said that they wont make a comment on the manager until the end of the season, now as the tide turns the AST release this nonsense. It was a pathetically transparent attempt to bring support back onside after some of the flack Payton in particular has come in for online in the last number of weeks. Why not release this statement on Sept 2nd when the transfer window is closed, how does it look to potential signings? Best interest of the club at heart? No. Self serving and as the spokesperson of the AST that is on Tim Payton.

The AST do some very valuable work but Payton as the figurehead is a joke.

Marty McFly

overpronator wrote: »

As the spokseman of the AST he compromised his office by becoming an indirect mouthpiece and lackey for people within the club this summer. They duped him completely and this has damaged the credibility of the AST as a result. Its ok that they took a couple of the more troublesome bloggers (Le Grove) in with that same ploy but he should have known better as the head of an independent supporters organisation.
He is a relentless self publicist and have heard that he wont allow his personal twitter account to be differentiated from that of the AST who dont actually have one. I don't know how many times I heard him on the radio/tv/online media over the summer pushing the patience/big signings mantra which he has been fed from up on high. He also gave credence to the supposed training ground bustup between Wenger and Bould earlier in the year by agreeing with Amy Lawrence that he had heard similar, best interests of the club at heart? Why did he give credibility to a story that developed into a sh1tstorm?

Furthermore the AST go and release a knee jerk statement after the Villa game questioning the managers supposed new contract, an issue that hasn't been to the forefront in the press since the start of the summer. Previously they have said that they wont make a comment on the manager until the end of the season, now as the tide turns the AST release this nonsense. It was a pathetically transparent attempt to bring support back onside after some of the flack Payton in particular has come in for online in the last number of weeks. Why not release this statement on Sept 2nd when the transfer window is closed, how does it look to potential signings? Best interest of the club at heart? No. Self serving and as the spokesperson of the AST that is on Tim Payton.

The AST do some very valuable work but Payton as the figurehead is a joke.

I don't see how it damages there credibility at all they duped all fans and media into thinking this was our big summer, so damaged credibility I don't buy at all. How should he have known better? Gazidis told everyone things would be different and everyone knows the club have money to spend it's clear as day. All the evidence pointed that we would and could spend money.

The AST do have there own twitter Here is a link to it.

https://twitter.com/AST_arsenal

A knee jerk statement that was needed Ok they said they would wait till September 2nd so did many fans but after the showing on Saturday and the threadbare condition of our squad of coarse there needed to be action and pressure but on the board and Wenger so they are perfectly aware of how angry and annoyed the fans are. Waiting till September 2nd would have served no purpose as it would be to late by then. It was flak Tim Payton hasn't deserved all because he told fans to be patient and to be frank is quite embarassing that my so called fellow fans would jump all over another fan because of that. Jump all over Gazidis or Wenger but to jump all over a fellow fan or any member of the AST is a joke. P.S Le Grove is a member of the AST as is Geoff Arsenal and many others in fact I believe it is only about 2 pound a month to join.

Looper007

Marty McFly wrote: »

He is meant to be a brilliant keeper a keeper Barcelona have been keeping an eye on and is very highly rated in Spain, as I saw someone say last night Casillas was on the bench for Real Madrid don't make him a bad keeper .



Because apparently they are willing to listen to offer according to reports and Pogba himself is said to be on a terrible wage one we could easily improve upon a wage so bad it would take him over a month to earn what we pay Bendtner a week.

Really, then sign him up. I taught he be getting paid a fair few quid and clearly they don't rate him that highly if they are listening to offers for him.

Looper007

So we got Pogba, Cabaye some guy from Sevilla, another from Roma, Casillias been rumored. Good to see.

Hopefully we be hearing of a top striker or Centre back soon.

gnfnrhead

Marty McFly wrote: »

So Sevilla have confirmed they rejected a 12.8 million pound offer from a club I'd say it has to be us.

Arsenal and Monaco are being linked with him he has reported release clause of 20 million. Had it been Monaco they would have met the 20 million straight off, only Arsenal would go in with a low ball offer on a player with a reasonable release clause.

€15m. Not exactly low ball and worth a shot. Just because a player has a release fee, doesn't mean the club won't be willing to sell for a lower price.

Looper007

gnfnrhead wrote: »

€15m. Not exactly low ball and worth a shot. Just because a player has a release fee, doesn't mean the club won't be willing to sell for a lower price.

Ain't Sevilla in debt trouble too? or is that Valencia.

the untitled user

gnfnrhead wrote: »

€15m. Not exactly low ball and worth a shot. Just because a player has a release fee, doesn't mean the club won't be willing to sell for a lower price.

Also, release fees usually don't allow for performance and/or sell on clauses. Some clubs may prefer to negotiate an seemingly smaller deal to take advantage of these. Can be beneficial for both clubs, means the buyer doesn't necessarily have to stump up all the cash at once (better for cash flow) while the seller may actually get more in the long run. Transfers are complicated.

In Arsenal's defence, if we went straight in with a 20m offer for the likes of Cabaye, thinking we were meeting the asking price then Newcastle could then say to themselves "if they come straight in with that then we can possibly get a lot lot more for this guy" so perhaps the thinking behind it is to get clubs to be a little more realistic of what their player is actually worth. Personally 10m was way too low. Start with 14, if the answer is no then up it to 17, and if the answer is no after that give them a take it or leave it offer of 20m and if the answer is no after that then move on.

If we do have a bid on Pogba then Juve seem to be keeping quiet enough which isnt a bad sign.

Marty McFly

Looper007 wrote: »

Really, then sign him up. I taught he be getting paid a fair few quid and clearly they don't rate him that highly if they are listening to offers for him.

He was a key part of there team towards the end of last season, but maybe they could with the cash.

I really hope its true, but the cynic in me think his agent might have something to do with it hoping to get Pogba a better deal.

Marty McFly

gnfnrhead wrote: »

€15m. Not exactly low ball and worth a shot. Just because a player has a release fee, doesn't mean the club won't be willing to sell for a lower price.

True I suppose I'm just impatient at this stage and think if a player has a release clause and we want him trigger it.

jonneymendoza

in wenger we trust

FearDark

I keep seeing that banner in the Emirates "You can't buy class". Are some supporters still that deluded?

Marty McFly

not a good sign at all. Was really hopeful he would make that extra step up this season.

the untitled user

Marty McFly wrote: »

He was a key part of there team towards the end of last season, but maybe they could with the cash.

I really hope its true, but the cynic in me think his agent might have something to do with it hoping to get Pogba a better deal.

Juventus aren't awash with cash so every player probably has their price, but Marotta has said time and time again that Vidal and Pogba aren't for sale. He was quoted yesterday in the Italian press saying something along the lines of 'There was contact from Arsenal but there isn't even point to listen to the offer'.

Pogba moved to Juve in the first place because Ferguson renagued on promises of first team football apparently. At Juve he still has Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal ahead of him, but with Marchisio injured now for about 6 weeks, I cannot see Juventus selling him this window regardless of how good the offer is.

tayto lover

"You can't buy class"



That might soon change to " You can't buy anyone " the way we're going.

overpronator

Marty McFly wrote: »

I don't see how it damages there credibility at all they duped all fans and media into thinking this was our big summer, so damaged credibility I don't buy at all. How should he have known better? Gazidis told everyone things would be different and everyone knows the club have money to spend it's clear as day. All the evidence pointed that we would and could spend money.

The AST do have there own twitter Here is a link to it.

https://twitter.com/AST_arsenal

A knee jerk statement that was needed Ok they said they would wait till September 2nd so did many fans but after the showing on Saturday and the threadbare condition of our squad of coarse there needed to be action and pressure but on the board and Wenger so they are perfectly aware of how angry and annoyed the fans are. Waiting till September 2nd would have served no purpose as it would be to late by then. It was flak Tim Payton hasn't deserved all because he told fans to be patient and to be frank is quite embarassing that my so called fellow fans would jump all over another fan because of that. Jump all over Gazidis or Wenger but to jump all over a fellow fan or any member of the AST is a joke. P.S Le Grove is a member of the AST as is Geoff Arsenal and many others in fact I believe it is only about 2 pound a month to join.

Fair enough on the twitter account, that was an anecdote someone had told me at the weekend

If you think that that Tim Payton hasn't damaged the name of the AST over this summer with his media appearances then you're not looking too hard. Unfair or not he associated himself with these stories from the club, you cant say he didn't fan the flames, it's his love of the spotlight that has him in the firing line now.

Why has he so suddenly changed tack after the Villa game, the need for players was dire before then but you can be sure the statement wouldn't have surfaced if we had won the game. He starts getting flack, the AST put out a statement sticking the boot into the manager and he changes his tune talking to the very group that put the video out which referenced him. Surely you can see that for what it is?

Suddenly you're a "so called fan" if you criticise him, and not the club? I've heard it all now.
That statement was needed straight after last season ended, why did they wait until the club is in the toliet after the Villa game? They didn't have the courage to release it then and its was completely self serving to put it out after the Villa game. Putting the manager as the front and centre focus of the statement damages Arsenal and its ability to recruit over the next few weeks.

p.s so what if le grove of geoff or whoever is a member of the AST? My issue is with Tim Payton.

jonneymendoza

shocking if true http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2397451/REVEALED-Arsenals-tired-transfer-formula-pay-10-000-time-Oxlade-Chamberlain-plays-20-minutes.html

Marty McFly

jonneymendoza wrote: »

shocking if true http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2397451/REVEALED-Arsenals-tired-transfer-formula-pay-10-000-time-Oxlade-Chamberlain-plays-20-minutes.html

Someone posted that yesterday aswell, and I don't believe it for a second. Wenger may have his faults but this for me is the media scraping the bottom of the barrel.

overpronator

jonneymendoza wrote: »

shocking if true http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2397451/REVEALED-Arsenals-tired-transfer-formula-pay-10-000-time-Oxlade-Chamberlain-plays-20-minutes.html

Just look at who wrote it.

Mr.Micro

Gunners' transfer policy decided by Harvard boffins' economic formula

This probably makes sense, as the logic of our transfer policy escapes us all.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...0-minutes.html

the untitled user

Why is it shocking? Even if he plays 50 games in 5 years that still only equates to £2.5m. £3m of the Ox's £15m fee was linked to performances.

I'm not privvy to players contracts, but from reading the media in recent years this type of thing isn't uncommon. The press are clearly just trying to wind us up further.

bad2dabone

it's from the daily mail.

it is an article from


the daily mail.

The daily. Mail.

overpronator

Arseblog dissects that article very nicely here.

http://news.arseblog.com/2013/08/mail-astounded-that-club-pays-for-player/

batistuta9

the untitled user wrote: »

Why is it shocking? Even if he plays 50 games in 5 years that still only equates to £2.5m. £3m of the Ox's £15m fee was linked to performances.

I'm not privvy to players contracts, but from reading the media in recent years this type of thing isn't uncommon. The press are clearly just trying to wind us up further.

putting him on after the 70th minute to save a few grand is the shocking bit - if true

your math is wrong btw

bad2dabone

jesus Willian and Lamela for spurs. F8ck fourth they're going for higher than that

FearDark

bad2dabone wrote: »

jesus Willian and Lamela for spurs. F8ck fourth they're going for higher than that

How has Wenger not managed to get at least one of the new signings Spurs have gotten? How has me managed to fuuck up so bad?

greendom

bad2dabone wrote: »

jesus Willian and Lamela for spurs. F8ck fourth they're going for higher than that

I thought we were in for Lamela, as well?

bad2dabone

greendom wrote: »

I thought we were in for Lamela, as well?

i'd prefer lamela to Willian, but to be honest we've been "in" for so many and got none that my confidence in Arsenal sealing a deal ahead of a smaller club like spurs is on the floor.

Baldini, what an appointment for them.

Alfred Borden

Wenger on the market: "Less than 2 weeks is a long time and 75 per cent of things happen in the last ten days."

EuropeanSon

FearDark wrote: »

How has Wenger not managed to get at least one of the new signings Spurs have gotten? How has me managed to fuuck up so bad?

I'd imagine that most of them just aren't good enough for Wenger to think they are improvements.

Just because they've bought lots of players, doesn't mean they've now got a great team. Spending money on players doesn't make those players great. Not saying they aren't, just saying we should chill out a bit. Just because a player was transferred doesn't mean we should've bought them.

I read some fans suggesting we should've been in for the likes of Wanyama, for example, just because another club decided he was worth 10m+ to them. Wanyama would be nowhere near our team, and a completely worthless signing if we actually aim to compete.

Not saying we shouldn't sign players. I'm as pissed off by the shambles that this window has been as anyone. But we shouldn't just sign somebody mediocre just to make a signing.

premierstone

EuropeanSon wrote: »

I'd imagine that most of them just aren't good enough for Wenger to think they are improvements.

Just because they've bought lots of players, doesn't mean they've now got a great team. Spending money on players doesn't make those players great. Not saying they aren't, just saying we should chill out a bit. Just because a player was transferred doesn't mean we should've bought them.

I read some fans suggesting we should've been in for the likes of Wanyama, for example, just because another club decided he was worth 10m+ to them. Wanyama would be nowhere near our team, and a completely worthless signing if we actually aim to compete.

Not saying we shouldn't sign players. I'm as pissed off by the shambles that this window has been as anyone. But we shouldn't just sign somebody mediocre just to make a signing.

Bit OT but have you actually watched Wanyama play, he is nowhere near worthless and is a quality player and still very young, will prove to be an excellent signing for Southampton and would definitely improved our squad.

EuropeanSon

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Not saying we shouldn't sign players. I'm as pissed off by the shambles that this window has been as anyone. But we shouldn't just sign somebody mediocre just to make a signing.

Completely agree. It would be a huge step back after getting rid of the deadwood like we did this year.

Alfred Borden

Wenger on Oxlade-Chamberlain: "He will be out for at least six weeks. We don't think he will need surgery."
good news

bad2dabone

Raf32 wrote: »

Wenger on Oxlade-Chamberlain: "He will be out for at least six weeks. We don't think he will need surgery."
good news

Great news, I'm very fond of the ox as a youngster

batistuta9

premierstone wrote: »

Bit OT but have you actually watched Wanyama play, he is nowhere near worthless and is a quality player and still very young, will prove to be an excellent signing for Southampton and would definitely improved our squad.

he'd improve the squad yeah

but would he be in the same league as L.Bender & Gustavo now?

that's the crux of his statement are they better than what arsenal have been looking at/for

another one, is soldado as good as Higuain or Suarez?

Godge

FearDark wrote: »

How has Wenger not managed to get at least one of the new signings Spurs have gotten? How has me managed to fuuck up so bad?

The Spurs signings are good but not great - I have made that point earlier.

Soldado has had one good season in a league with two teams, before that he was not as good as Carlos Vela.

Paulinho is the only decent over-21 Brazilian footballer left in Brazil apart from Denilson, need I say more.

Willian played well against Chelsea in the Champions League.

Chadli, I don't know much about, maybe he is the one.

Capoue, we have looked at him time and again but not made a move, is he one that won't make the step from the French League, a Squillaci or Chamakh?

Lamela, like Soldado has had one good season, 16 in 33 last season, nothing spectacular before that. Two caps fro Argentina.

They are all players who might make the step up, typical Wenger signings (Gervinho-like) all right, but they are not world class, neither are they proven in the Premier League. You might bet on 2 being excellent, another 2 making 25-30 appearances across all competitions and being adequate and the other two disappearing fast.

Now, they might improve Spurs, all other things being equal, but that means keeping Bale. Without Bale, they could at best keep Spurs in or around the same level as last season.

Godge

EuropeanSon wrote: »

I'd imagine that most of them just aren't good enough for Wenger to think they are improvements.

Just because they've bought lots of players, doesn't mean they've now got a great team. Spending money on players doesn't make those players great. Not saying they aren't, just saying we should chill out a bit. Just because a player was transferred doesn't mean we should've bought them.

I read some fans suggesting we should've been in for the likes of Wanyama, for example, just because another club decided he was worth 10m+ to them. Wanyama would be nowhere near our team, and a completely worthless signing if we actually aim to compete.

Not saying we shouldn't sign players. I'm as pissed off by the shambles that this window has been as anyone. But we shouldn't just sign somebody mediocre just to make a signing.

I agree. Sure Wanyama would have played instead of Arteta last Saturday but as soon as Arteta was fit he would be out of the team. He is not good enough to replace Arteta in the long run and would have been a fill-in signing and we would be looking for a Gustavo or Bender next summer anyway.

Wanyama would be filler in the squad (which we do need but not at any price) but would not improve the team which is where we need to spend the money.

tayto lover

batistuta9 wrote: »

he'd improve the squad yeah

but would he be in the same league as L.Bender & Gustavo now?

that's the crux of his statement are they better than what arsenal have been looking at/for

another one, is soldado as good as Higuain or Suarez?

They are better than what we got though ...... nothing.;)

wandatowell

Spurs signing a lot of players in one window could back fire, It might take a while for the team to gel.


Hopefully we can win a few games by then

The NLD will be fun anyway...

Maybe they're hanging on so it'll be Bale's last game!

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Godge wrote: »

The Spurs signings are good but not great - I have made that point earlier.

Soldado has had one good season in a league with two teams, before that he was not as good as Carlos Vela.

Paulinho is the only decent over-21 Brazilian footballer left in Brazil apart from Denilson, need I say more.

Willian played well against Chelsea in the Champions League.

Chadli, I don't know much about, maybe he is the one.

Capoue, we have looked at him time and again but not made a move, is he one that won't make the step from the French League, a Squillaci or Chamakh?

Lamela, like Soldado has had one good season, 16 in 33 last season, nothing spectacular before that. Two caps fro Argentina.

They are all players who might make the step up, typical Wenger signings (Gervinho-like) all right, but they are not world class, neither are they proven in the Premier League. You might bet on 2 being excellent, another 2 making 25-30 appearances across all competitions and being adequate and the other two disappearing fast.

Now, they might improve Spurs, all other things being equal, but that means keeping Bale. Without Bale, they could at best keep Spurs in or around the same level as last season.

Well, that's one way of looking at it all right, or....


Soldado - averages a goal every other game in La Liga for Valencia, a team that has had to sell their best players just to stay afloat.

Paulinho - one of Brazil's shining lights in the Confed Cup, got motm on his debut and looks a fantastic, high energy player.

Willian - highly rated Brazilian that has been courted by no other than Arsenal in the past.

Chadli - don't know much about either but looks a good squad player.

Capoue - another player who had a fantastic debut but was only bought as cover for Sandro. Was highly rated in France and already he looks better than Thudd, Livermore and Parker.

Lamela - another highly rated player. Scored 15 in 33 in perhaps the most tactical league in the world. Many posters here that have seen him play rate him very highly.


I'm not saying that these are all great players, I'm just pointing out the delusion in your post. It's almost like what you'd see in the Liverpool thread, trying to somehow play down our signings when it's as obvious as day that we've strengthened.

Teams win nothing on paper, as a Spurs fan I know that more than most, but we are building an extremely competitive squad and to try and say otherwise is foolish. We're odds on for fourth, and we look like we could challenge for more than that. I still think we'll be battling yerselves for fourth until the final few games however.

And also, lol at your attempts to compare Soldado and Paulinho to Vela and Denilson respectively, easily the most delusion I've seen in a post in a long time, congrats.


Anyway, back to the SSC, apologies to the rest of ye for the intrusion.

EuropeanSon

premierstone wrote: »

Bit OT but have you actually watched Wanyama play, he is nowhere near worthless and is a quality player and still very young, will prove to be an excellent signing for Southampton and would definitely improved our squad.

I have, just in the CL last year, so admittedly not very much. I'm not saying he's a terrible player, but that us signing him would be a worthless move. We've spent the summer getting rid of not-quite-good-enough players, buying another one would be completely pointless. He probably would improve our squad right now, threadbare as it is. However, he's not someone we should've been looking at, because we should've been looking to improve on what we had last year. If we just wanted depth we'd've just kept Coquelin rather than spending 10m+ on Wanyama.

TheGunns

You're massively overrating those players purely because they've signed for Spurs. It's natural but still, other posters in here will take what you said as the bible and we'll have even more negativity around the place

brianregan09

As an Arsenal fan I would be over the moon if we'd have gotten the players Spurs signed this year its crazy to think otherwise

Soldado is a fantastic striker, Paulinho was one of brazils best midfielders in the confed cup, Willian has been unreal any time i've seen Shaktar playing him and fernandinho always stood out for them, Chadli to be fair i've never heard of before the summer
Capoue looks good too and as for Lamela 21 year old right winger great player aswell yeah any arsenal fan that says these wouldn't have fit straight into our squad and massively strengthened it is delusional

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

TheGunns wrote: »

You're massively overrating those players purely because they've signed for Spurs. It's natural but still, other posters in here will take what you said as the bible and we'll have even more negativity around the place

I know, well not massively over-rating just over-rating, it was just more of a comparison with the post I commented on, who was massively under-rating them.