Hard to do a victory lap of spending 500m when about 200m of it haven’t kicked a ball for you yet
Declan Rice | signs for arsenal
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I would argue that the difference is that Man Utds spending gets talked about drastically more and Arsenal are still looked at as overachievers. Which is why Utd fans probably point it out.
Not that I really care about your spending. I think any club that earns their money should spend it on trying to improve their squad.
Our problem starts at the top with the owners but there are so many issues even with our transfer team. They’re all useless so hopefully Any new owners will bring in there own people who know and can focus on the footballing side of things.
It’s an insult this comparison was even made in the first place. Rice isn’t fit to lace Casemiro’s boots even in his thirties, never mind when he was in his prime at Madrid.
I mean it’s difficult to compare. Before Arteta joined Arsenal were actually doing slightly better. Then in his first full season they finished 8th, then 5th. And now 2nd with a rather disappointing end to the season.
Whereas United have been finishing on average higher than that under Jose/Ole. Jo-Jo-ing between 2nd and 6th place. Now with ETH we finished 3rd and at least tried to win every competition which meant too many games.
Your football was really good this season most of the time whereas ours was better than last season, but still not good enough.
If we also get 2-3 signings sorted I would say we are both in similar situation and as likely to improve from last season as to stagnate.
I haven't seen any Arsenal fan compare them tbf. Surely even the most biased and hopeful of their fans would know that would sound laughable.
Didn’t a bunch claim Casemiro was a poor man’s Thomas Partey throughout last season?
Also add 50m for Timber. That's 230m spent.
God I hope not. I think Partey is better than Rice but even then it's a silly comparison.
Although tbf loads of Arsenal as a fan base around 2008 used to claim Wenger was better tactically than Sir Alex and basically every player in their squad was better than ours yet we won everything and they won nothing. Odd bunch sometimes.
Casemiro won everything he could with Real Madrid. Rice just moved to a top 6 club in EPL.
Unfortunately Rice is a class player and very young.
The fee is pretty crazy but this is a great singing for Arsenal, was secretly hoping we could have somehow got him but not to be.
The fee is pretty crazy but this is a great singing for Arsenal, was secretly hoping we could have somehow got him but not to be.
Indeed, both those things are true.
And we are the ones being brought up more recently when FFP is mentioned
If you lost because City went on a ridiculous run and the City loss plus one other draw was the difference (ala Liverpool 2019) I don't think anyone would say anything.
But ultimately if you held two two goal leads and beat the bottom side at home there's likely nothing City and Haaland's record breaking goals could have done. That combined with the fact you basically chucked the cups to aid the league run in meant you did blow it in my opinion.
Although that being said I do think you will challenge again next season.
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Honestly Arsenal spending this kind of money is a victory in itself
Neither did I. The Kroenkes are serious about Arsenal following their other teams like the Rams and Denver Nuggets who recently won their championships
I think it's also because you're the bigger club, so obviously get more attention (good and bad).
Because our big spending has been more in the last 3-4 years, while your spending has been huge in the last decade or so. Apparently we should be OK for FFP for now. https://goonertalk.com/2023/06/27/why-arsenal-can-splash-the-cash-this-summer-without-ffp-fears/
Oh we did blow it, don't think there's a question of that. But I think everyone saw it coming, myself included. Gary Neville was right all along, and he loved reminding everyone. Personally, I only started to dream of the title in the last 2 months of the season, then Saliba and Tomi got injured.
Once it was clear Holding would be playing more than 2-3 games, I knew we were done.I think with the summer we look to be having, another title charge is expected now.
I've just always found him so underwhelming.
With Havertz, Odegaard & Partey occupying the midfield 3 - can anyone imagine him playing the Zinchenko role?
With Havertz, Odegaard & Partey occupying the midfield 3 - can anyone imagine him playing the Zinchenko role?
Good luck to them, the more competition the better. You could do a Liverpool or Leicester but I still think you have some gaps and City don't whilst they clearly have money ready.
Wonder what Wenger thinks of spending this much money!
Arsenal didn't have the squad depth. Once Saliba got injured I knew the title challenge was finished. The premier league is just like a marathon, and Arsenal ran out of steam in the end. It is what it is, and Man City is the better team and worthy winner.Oh we did blow it, don't think there's a question of that. But I think everyone saw it coming, myself included. Gary Neville was right all along, and he loved reminding everyone. Personally, I only started to dream of the title in the last 2 months of the season, then Saliba and Tomi got injured.
I think with the summer we look to be having, another title charge is expected now.
So far the transfer is like for like replacement, or may be improvement on existing 11. Not much work is done on the quality of squad depth. The difference in bench quality between City and the rest of the top 6 club is huge, including even Liverpool.
Good is pretty debatable!
Not sure that you can say we were doing better before Arteta joined as we haven't had CL football in 7 years until now. You've always been in there apart from last season and 19/20. But I don't think anyone wants to win a "my club is worse than yours" discussion.
Wenger I'm sure advised Arteta to bid £101 for Rice.
Finished with the Partey now they’re going for Rice
Sounds like a night out
Sounds like a night out
Oh I meant in the seasons before Arteta joined Arsenal were doing slightly better than in Arteta’s first 1,5 seasons where he finished 8th (I didn’t mean better than United). So from 8th to now 2nd is obviously clear progress, whereas Jose and Ole both already finished 2nd. So now ETH finishes 3rd it is not all clear if or how much we have progressed from Jose or Ole’s best seasons.
Agree with the sentiment that Arsenal has crazily overpaid probably for all their deals. But can anyone actually suggest that they aren't improving with their transfers? I credit this type of vision.
We really need to get a move on.
We really need to get a move on.
Credit to Arsenal for getting their signings in early. But come on, does every club have to go through their big money overrated player phase? No way is Rice a 100 million player. Not sure what the fixation is as they could’ve got a similar quality player for half the price if they looked outside the PL.
I think you are wrong there. There was a period earlier in the season when ‘we’ were on Casemiro’s back. As far as I can tell Rice is pretty much West Ham’s mom every game, also one of the first names on the England’s team sheet. Do you think Pep/ City would have bid £90m+ for him if they didn’t think he was fit to lace Casemiro’s boots?
What are the odds that in a couple of years from now, Rice, Havertz and Lavia fail to perform and arsenal are left with players they can't shift on long-term, high-salary contracts?
Sod's Law, its a bit of a cnut
Can you give an example? Tonali is going to Newcastle for £60-70mil. You paid £60mil for a 30yo Case. I completely agree we're overpaying by about 20-30mil but who are these proven, top level DMs that can be had for the £50mil mark? Whilst also still being young enough (like Tonali, Rice) to keep improving and have their best years ahead of them?
I'm pretty sure that guy from ArseFan TV (Robbie?) chose Party over Casemiro in a combined XI on some show they did on Sky with Neville and Carragher earlier in the season.
Admittedly that isn't a great representation of the the Arsenal fan base at large. Most of them on here don't seem to agree with that POV.
£70m (potentially) for Tonali is pretty mad too, no? Makes Casemiro look like a steal even at 30!
Makes Rice's fee look less ridiculous as well, to be totally honest.
I honestly don't think it makes much difference.
I think Rice and Havertz are generally better players than those they'll be replacing, Partey and Xhaka. So in the long run sure.
But both Partey and Xhaka had pretty good seasons last year, Partey particularly, so I'm not sure how much it lifts their performances levels from that. Makes it more repeatable sure, but I don't think those signings particularly close the gap on City that existed this season.
Those were absolute knee-jerk reactions as per usual on here. If they were like that for a serial winner like Casemiro imagine the stick a lesser player like Rice would get if he was brought in for a £105m and had a few poor performances. Also just because City wanted him doesn’t mean anything, Pep also wanted Sanchez and Maguire, how’d they turn out? Also how much they’re willing pay for someone is irrelevant as they‘ve got unlimited funds. They paid £100m for Jack Grealish and basically sat him on the bench most of his first season.
No, I can’t give an example but time will show better players who could’ve been better deals. One of the young guys at Ajax or Benfica can have a brilliant season and suddenly be identified as the next best thing. Enzo Fernandes was a 15 million player last summer. A club should be paying such a large fee for a player if they are one of the best in their positions. I don’t need to see who else is out there to know that Rice is not a 100 million player.
I could be wrong, of course, but I feel Rice’s game has many technical gaps which just can’t be completely filled. There would be players who may suit Arsenal’s, or any top team for that matter, style better. From a ball winning perspective though, Rice is a great asset. It is only his stuff when he will be asked to pass well and pass accurately, his weaknesses will come. And also unlike Partey, he also doesn’t seem to have a long ranger in him. This may be my own bias or PTSD, Rice reminds me of Maguire when he carries the ball with the agility of a tractor.
Anyways, mine is just one of many opinions on the internet. Don’t let it distract you from a job well done by your board. At least they are assertive and have gone with a plan. Any signing can be a hit or a miss. And with Rice for such a big fee, Arsenal are showing a big team like intent. Whether Rice can prove himself to be worth that money could be one of the most important stories of next season.
£170m for Rice and Havertz doesn't have my quivering in my boots, if I am honest.
I would say it's the best move for Rice though; a step up for him but not absolute top club level
I would say it's the best move for Rice though; a step up for him but not absolute top club level
No trophies, though that will hopefully change.
But that's a disingenuous comment, the club has totally righted itself over the last few years.
We've gone from having a poor locker room and culture, with a squad full of overpaid older players - to a young group (only three players over 27 in the core group), with a strong culture, a good gameplan which has resulted in the side moving steadily up the ladder and is now back in the CL.
Prior to any signing this off-season we were behind United's total spending since 19/20 by nearly €100m.
Arsenal's total - €606.56m
United's total - €705.88m
Casemiro is a proven top level winner. 5 x CL's is it. Not comparable.
Yes, it's mad. Which is kind of my point - the market is crazy now. With players like Tonali/Rice, you're also paying more for their potential and how good they're generally expected to be. If things work out well for us, Rice will be in our midfield for the next decade, hopefully winning things along the way. £100mil will look like a steal then. Everyone said Liverpool were overpaying for Virgil at the time but I'm sure no one is saying that now. Hopefully overpaying for Rice works out more like Van Dijk than Maguire.
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