2019/20 Rivals - Arsenal

Leicester getting massively overrated.

They've got a VERY good midfield (arguably a better 3 than us/United/Arsenal), two very good fullbacks and a decent striker in Vardy.

It's not enough. They will probably lose Maguire, leaving their CB partnership painfully average. Schmeichel is an ok keeper and their other attackers range from decent to mid table standard, and a top class attacking player or two can make up for many deficiencies in the league. Hence why Arsenal are better than Leicester and will be again next season, they have two very good strikers.

I expect them to be the team finishing 7th, but no higher than that. Tielemans is a great signing but Ayoze Perez is little more than ok so they're still lacking top class firepower and someone who can consistently deliver from out wide like Mahrez did. If they had another player on his level starting for them then maybe we could think about a top 4 challenge.
 
There was a significant gap from the top 6 to the chasing pack. And although it is possible that a club in the top 6 has a horrible campaign where things go wrong as has happened before. I doubt that any of the chasing pack is capable of getting 70 points next season.
 
I have a very limited understanding of Arsenal’s troubles with their finances (owners greed being number 1) but why is their spending this limited?

I thought Wenger saw them through their stadium rebuild (by achieving top 4 every season) & I sort of expected them to open the purse strings now (especially as they have/had the highest ticket prices). But still, I’ve read reports that their budget without selling anyone is something like £45m? Is it still the stadium prohibiting them or is it purely just the owners?
 
Ish said:
I have a very limited understanding of Arsenal’s troubles with their finances (owners greed being number 1) but why is their spending this limited?

I thought Wenger saw them through their stadium rebuild (by achieving top 4 every season) & I sort of expected them to open the purse strings now (especially as they have/had the highest ticket prices). But still, I’ve read reports that their budget without selling anyone is something like £45m? Is it still the stadium prohibiting them or is it purely just the owners?
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Honestly at this point i don't know anymore and i don't even want to know. Too much hassle to read through the lies from the top, the itk, the forums etc...
One of the biggest club begging for loans with option to buy while West Ham blows 100 millions...
 
awop said:
Honestly at this point i don't know anymore and i don't even want to know. Too much hassle to read through the lies from the top, the itk, the forums etc...
One of the biggest club begging for loans with option to buy while West Ham blows 100 millions...
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Yeah man, that’s what I’ve found very confusing. I thought you’d be getting to a point where you’re in very little stadium debt and you’d be able to spend big. But it’s almost getting worse for you guys.
 
Heart warming stuff...., essentially Arsenal are run as a business, (as Chelsea & Utd, these days...), all about making money and near impossible to challenge for the title in the short term. Guess some players missed CL bonuses which has upset the dressing room too.

He's got a few good points, essentially home grown core with the right attitude and a few key signings here and there is the way forward, similar to Liverpool. Avoid big name players on huge money, who are then impossible to sell and destabilize the dressing room..
 
Failed to achieve our goal, bet it wouldnt be a goal for them if there was no money in it, rip when they see that as a goal on the first place.

Already can see some special folk eat this up gladly.

"Stop whinging start supporting they didn't have to answer but they did do you love Arsenal or did you love attention??", yea be grateful that Gods replied, nothing to do with fans putting focus on owner during their US tour, which is their home. State of those owners, its same mentality coming from that part of the world.
 
Scroto Baggins said:
So 45mil it is then?
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To be fair if we do sign Tierney (25m), Everton(30m), and Saliba (30m) and add up Martinelli (8m) we'll have spent a bit more but we still haven't sold effectively and the Saliba cost is to be offset to next summer (if he's not a Spurs player by then). It's more the mood around every transfer window where you feel that we have our hands tied and are trying to do the sneakiest of deals on unknown or average targets. We need our signings to be the right ones because we're terrible at getting rid when they're not.
If we can get these 3 + a CB for this season + Ceballos on loan we'd have done ok. "ok" is probably not enough if you want to get back in the top 4 though.
 
awop said:
To be fair if we do sign Tierney (25m), Everton(30m), and Saliba (30m) and add up Martinelli (8m) we'll have spent a bit more but we still haven't sold effectively and the Saliba cost is to be offset to next summer (if he's not a Spurs player by then). It's more the mood around every transfer window where you feel that we have our hands tied and are trying to do the sneakiest of deals on unknown or average targets. We need our signings to be the right ones because we're terrible at getting rid when they're not.
If we can get these 3 + a CB for this season + Ceballos on loan we'd have done ok. "ok" is probably not enough if you want to get back in the top 4 though.
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I think you need Ozil off the books, PEA justifies his 180k a week, not sure what Ozil does to justify his 250k. Same with Xhaka, I dont think you would be losing too much to move him on and get someone young and keen(and on less wages) in midfield.

With Tierney, Everton, Saliba, Martinelli in and Ceballos on loan that would be a good window imo.
 
We all want Özil gone but it doesn’t seem like we can shift him.

If the above signings work out I think we’ve done very well considering the supposed budget. But as with last year, there’s still a huge hole at CB, made significantly worse if we assume Koscielny won’t play next season.
 
For once we are trying to fill all the gaps in the team. This season we need a LB, CB, CM and WF. And we are actively looking for players in those positions. Previously we always were signing players in positions we didn't need and leaving the ones we needed to fill. There was a time when all we seemed to buy was a short, technically gifted midfielder who was best suited as a number 10.

Wether we can get all our targets is another question. So far we seem to have got Saliba, although he won't join until next season. Tierney we are quite confident he will sign soon. Ceballos seems to be pretty much done. That leaves a CB and a winger.

If we get 2 decent players in those positions, we will have had a great window, considering all the constraints and no CL.
 
Raw said:


An apt summary of their transfer strategy so far :lol:
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Hahaha. The last few windows any transfer we were involved with, all we heard mentioned was 'add-ons' or 'option to buy'. Don't know whether to laugh or cry whenever I see those words now.
 
They just need to strengthen too many positions in one window that with the current market it's no longer feasible. They need 4/5 new players and with the prices floating round and their supposed budget, it's just not going to happen. They will have to hope their young players step up or take a gamble and sign unknowns in the hope they can make an impact which is a risky strategy.

They badly need a LB and they have bid over £25m for Tierney which has been rejected so I expect his value is around £30/£35m. When your rumoured budget is £45m, then it's not looking good considering the other positions they need to fill.
 
Quotes from Emery that you are trying to sign a very big very expensive player. Has to be Zaha no?

Quotes they are looking at three or four players to immediately improve the squad. Say Zaha, Tierney, Saliba. That would be a decent start, certainly not enough to challenge City or Liverpool. But an improvement for sure. Although remains to be seen if they can get those across the line. What will Palace demand for Zaha? 55-60mil?, Tierney 30-35mil, Saliba was around the 25-30mil.
 
Zaha is probably dead and buried by now, no way we're coming up with the amount they want. Tierney is 25m, it's just the structure of the payment that needs sorting out.
I'm quietly optimistic and excited about Ceballos though, i'll admit i had never seen him play before and now that i'm an expert on him with that Youtube compilation he looks pretty good.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
Leicester getting massively overrated.

They've got a VERY good midfield (arguably a better 3 than us/United/Arsenal), two very good fullbacks and a decent striker in Vardy.

It's not enough. They will probably lose Maguire, leaving their CB partnership painfully average. Schmeichel is an ok keeper and their other attackers range from decent to mid table standard, and a top class attacking player or two can make up for many deficiencies in the league. Hence why Arsenal are better than Leicester and will be again next season, they have two very good strikers.

I expect them to be the team finishing 7th, but no higher than that. Tielemans is a great signing but Ayoze Perez is little more than ok so they're still lacking top class firepower and someone who can consistently deliver from out wide like Mahrez did. If they had another player on his level starting for them then maybe we could think about a top 4 challenge.
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Leicester's main problem last season was they had completely wrong manager for 3/4 of it. Think Puel would've been sacked before xmas if the owner tragedy hadn't happened.

After Rodgers came in they won 5 out of 10 so not too bad when you think they had Arsenal, Chelsea and Man. City as their last three.

Said before but think he's a great fit for Leicester with many young players and he's shown at other clubs he has no problem developing young talent (started Sterling at Liverpool when he was only 17).

Them and Everton should be pushing for top 6 much more season. They are pretty similar in away form to Arsenal and Chelsea after all. all about being able to win against bottom half teams at home which was major problem for Leicester last season.
 
United are linked with Aubameyang again, any likelihood of this happening?
 
the Edu Gaspar appointment has gone under the radar, but I think it will be important. The guy looks to have all the contacts for the Brazilian market and National Players. Perhaps more S.Americans will be showing up for Arsenal.
 
AkaAkuma said:
the Edu Gaspar appointment has gone under the radar, but I think it will be important. The guy looks to have all the contacts for the Brazilian market and National Players. Perhaps more S.Americans will be showing up for Arsenal.
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Doesn't matter much, S. Americans need work permits, unless for special talents or expensive buys.
 
How long will Arsenal fans remain patient with Emery. I do think he is getting a raw deal but some of his decisions (not playing auba/laca together for many games, consistently sticking with Mustafi, Ozil etc.) were baffling. Surely he has to get them the top 4 and win a trophy or else he has not done any better than Wenger from 2014-18.
 
AshRK said:
How long will Arsenal fans remain patient with Emery. I do think he is getting a raw deal but some of his decisions (not playing auba/laca together for many games, consistently sticking with Mustafi, Ozil etc.) were baffling. Surely he has to get them the top 4 and win a trophy or else he has not done any better than Wenger from 2014-18.
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He didn't stick with Ozil at all, he played him out of position and then dropped him from the team. He wants Ozil out. Regards Mustafi, bang to rights in fairness.
 
His contract is up this season, think we have an option to extend it so Emery will be fighting hard this season. Personally I'm not fully convinced but lets see how he does.

I'm more worried about tactics then player selection personally. We seemed to play with no real identity or style last season, just seemed like pointless football. Am hoping the addition of Ceballos & a wide player will help in that regard though. We just could not keep position high up the pitch for sustained periods. Struggled to build pressure, kept losing the ball and then start again. We need to be able to pin teams back and dictate the game to them.
 
AshRK said:
How long will Arsenal fans remain patient with Emery. I do think he is getting a raw deal but some of his decisions (not playing auba/laca together for many games, consistently sticking with Mustafi, Ozil etc.) were baffling. Surely he has to get them the top 4 and win a trophy or else he has not done any better than Wenger from 2014-18.
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You find a buyer mug enough to take Mustafi. We couldn't give him away. I'd make him sweep the stadium but hed probably still cause us to concede a goal somehow.
 
JazzG said:
His contract is up this season, think we have an option to extend it so Emery will be fighting hard this season. Personally I'm not fully convinced but lets see how he does.

I'm more worried about tactics then player selection personally. We seemed to play with no real identity or style last season, just seemed like pointless football. Am hoping the addition of Ceballos & a wide player will help in that regard though. We just could not keep position high up the pitch for sustained periods. Struggled to build pressure, kept losing the ball and then start again. We need to be able to pin teams back and dictate the game to them.
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The unbeaten run early in the season saved him from a slaughtering. To bottle top 4 from the position we were in was scandalous management. One signing in January on 80k a week and he plays 21 minutes in 6 months despite being fully fit? Only Arsenal.
 
RayParlourIsMyGod said:
The unbeaten run early in the season saved him from a slaughtering. To bottle top 4 from the position we were in was scandalous management. One signing in January on 80k a week and he plays 21 minutes in 6 months despite being fully fit? Only Arsenal.
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That unbeaten run was almost as bad as the one Man Utd went on a while back. So many of those games we got lucky and the performances generally were poor with the exception of a few games. It helped mask things and people actually thought we had turned a corner. There have been some improvements but in general we need a large improvement defensively. That doesn't just come from players though, that will be from tactics and being able to retain and hold the ball better. We lose the ball far too easily and then leave ourselves exposed.

I will say though the gap between us and Chelsea/Spurs isn't quite as big as people like making out, a few good additions and better tactics and we will be fighting for Top 4.
 
Grinner said:
You find a buyer mug enough to take Mustafi. We couldn't give him away. I'd make him sweep the stadium but hed probably still cause us to concede a goal somehow.
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Don't worry we have our own clown in Jones. SO we do understand how you lot feel about Mustafi.
 
Gonna have a special pre season aftv moment if zaha doesnt go there and joins everton. Even more so if the reports of ceballos loan being cancelledd cause of asensios injury or them walking away from tierney deal because 25 mil is too much are true.
 
It still feels strange for me to think of Arsenal as so bad.

I know they finished above us last season and I'll always concede that teams deserve to finish where they do in a 38 game season... But, with Arsenal, I think they are at least as bad if not worse than us and they either don't have or won't spend the money required to significantly improve their chances of progressing. Taking everything into account we should be considerably better than them next season, but there is of course how much better/experienced of a manager Emery is than Ole to factor in. We'll only know come about March how big of a factor each is, but right now I'd be incredibly disappointed if we finished below Arsenal again. The state they're in at the moment, I feel that Emery would be arguably overachieving if he finished higher than 6th.

Arsenal fans might have a different view with Chelsea's transfer ban and Lampard in charge, and Ole in charge of United. What do you gooners say?
 
Havak said:
It still feels strange for me to think of Arsenal as so bad.

I know they finished above us last season and I'll always concede that teams deserve to finish where they do in a 38 game season... But, with Arsenal, I think they are at least as bad if not worse than us and they either don't have or won't spend the money required to significantly improve their chances of progressing. Taking everything into account we should be considerably better than them next season, but there is of course how much better/experienced of a manager Emery is than Ole to factor in. We'll only know come about March how big of a factor each is, but right now I'd be incredibly disappointed if we finished below Arsenal again. The state they're in at the moment, I feel that Emery would be arguably overachieving if he finished higher than 6th.

Arsenal fans might have a different view with Chelsea's transfer ban and Lampard in charge, and Ole in charge of United. What do you gooners say?
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The thing is for years now Arsenal have been a soft touch (I'm talking all the way back to the season after the Invincible's here) and as such so many sides go to Arsenal thinking they can win. The difference is those same sides come to Old Trafford and stick 10 men behind the ball. If more sides went to Arsenal and went as ultra defensive as they do at OT Arsenal would have far less points than they do each season but alas they dont and eventually Arsenal's superior attacking players just end up out scoring the opposition

I could probably count on 1 hand the amount of really impressive performances I've seen from Arsenal over the last 10 years
 
Havak said:
It still feels strange for me to think of Arsenal as so bad.

I know they finished above us last season and I'll always concede that teams deserve to finish where they do in a 38 game season... But, with Arsenal, I think they are at least as bad if not worse than us and they either don't have or won't spend the money required to significantly improve their chances of progressing. Taking everything into account we should be considerably better than them next season, but there is of course how much better/experienced of a manager Emery is than Ole to factor in. We'll only know come about March how big of a factor each is, but right now I'd be incredibly disappointed if we finished below Arsenal again. The state they're in at the moment, I feel that Emery would be arguably overachieving if he finished higher than 6th.

Arsenal fans might have a different view with Chelsea's transfer ban and Lampard in charge, and Ole in charge of United. What do you gooners say?
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On the one hand, I think the final table actually flattered Arsenal quite a bit last season. By XG we were significantly worse than our points total and you could see it in the performances.

On the other hand, we were forced to give huge minutes to some truly shit players last year due to a combination of several bad injuries, Emery only having had one window to start remaking the team, and of course the sheer number of truly shit players that Wenger left us. The combination of injured players coming back (Bellerin, Holding), new signings (Cabellos, hopefully Tierney and a winger like Zaha), and some pretty lively youth players starting to get minutes here and there (Nketiah, Nelson, and Saka most notably) should help quite a bit. When half your team is total crap, its actually pretty easy to improve.

A lot really depends on the signings. If we get Tierney and Zaha I like our chances for top four. But I'm skeptical that we get them both.
 
charlenefan said:
I could probably count on 1 hand the amount of really impressive performances I've seen from Arsenal over the last 10 years
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Tiny bit of an overreaction maybe ? What constitute a really impressive performance for you ?
 
charlenefan said:
The thing is for years now Arsenal have been a soft touch (I'm talking all the way back to the season after the Invincible's here) and as such so many sides go to Arsenal thinking they can win. The difference is those same sides come to Old Trafford and stick 10 men behind the ball. If more sides went to Arsenal and went as ultra defensive as they do at OT Arsenal would have far less points than they do each season but alas they dont and eventually Arsenal's superior attacking players just end up out scoring the opposition

I could probably count on 1 hand the amount of really impressive performances I've seen from Arsenal over the last 10 years
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Yeah, teams just try harder against United than they do any other team in the league. They just roll over for all the other big sides. That's it.
 
this season will be another transition year. We will probably focus on developing our own young players and give them more game time. I don't see us ready to challenge top 4.
 
Mogget said:
Yeah, teams just try harder against United than they do any other team in the league. They just roll over for all the other big sides. That's it.
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I didn't say that did I

Try reading again before you go full keyboard warrior ;)
 
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