Arsene needs to have two goals right now. 1 - he needs to have a team that can, right now, compete and win the EPL. 2 - he needs to do whatever he can to change Arsenal's image from a seller's club. In order to accomplish those two goals, I would do three things: 1) I would publicly announce that every single dollar earned by selling RVP will be spent on player transfers by the end of the winter break. 2) I would - very publicly - tell Barca to ******** off with Song. And I would tell Song to ******** off if he asked for a transfer (which, AFAIK, he hasn't). 3) I would buy a striker - someone better than Chamakh - before the end of the summer transfer; or alternatively, I would buy Clint Dempsey. I would also make sure I won Sahin. Either now or during the winter transfer market, I would add a CB and/or a LB; Mexes would be a good start. Meanwhile , RVP can go f*** himself. He can say it isn't about the money all he wants, but the reality is, we built a team that, with him at the top, would have been just as good as ManUtd, with quality dept; and every indication was we weren't done (at least not defensively). Good luck trying to exist on the same field as Rooney; maybe you can piss him off, he can trip you, and you can spend the rest of your career rehabbing.
1) I dont think Wenger has the final word on where the transfer money goes. 2) If Barca offer 15 million + Ibrahim I am fine. Song was also in that category of 2 good seasons. I dont think his loss will offset massive losses. 3) We dont need a striker and Chamakh is a good player to come off the bench. He can hold the ball very well and if he can continue his form from the end of last season then maybe he can build on it. That Belgian guy looks to be going to Everton. Also about Dempsey, would love to see him at Arsenal but we have to many attacking midfielders, specially if Ibrahim comes in the Barca deal. We dont need a Left back when we have Santos and Gibbs. Also I trust either one of Carl, Nico, or Francis at RB. Then center-back we are fine obviously. What we would need is a DM and that is a maybe. We have options. M'vila, Javi Martinez, that Celtic player. Dont forget Frimpong and Coq. Also I think you are forgetting Theo Walcott. I would use RVP money on him. He is a good player at the age of 23 and a lot of potential. Get him sorted. BTW What did people think of Luciano Narsingh with the Dutch today? He could be a good future player for Arsenal.
Soooooo....you think this team is just going to win the EPL as is, minus Song? Or as long as we're better than Spurs, that's sufficient?
Win the league, maybe not. I do think maybe a run in the Capital One Cup or FA Cup is the best possibility at this moment. I think 3rd in the Premier League is the most likely choice. To win it would be hard but not impossible. Remember, take out us, Man U, Man City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea... there are 14 other teams. We play them twice. That is 28 games... that is 84 points up for grab. Yes we wont win all 28 but we should win most of them and in the end I think that will matter a lot. And dont forget, we did beat Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City last season as well. We can do it all again. Yes no van Persie is sad but we got the reinforcements and there is nothing we can do. He wanted out, we tried to persuade him. We got Podolski and Giroud before he said the statement. He knew what we got, we knew what we got. Did not stop him and from that statement there was no turning back. They had no choice. He thought the offers would float in but in the end they did not and they were like "oh shit". Again no turning back now so Man U was the only option and I think we did well. For Song, if we sell him than I believe we will do it because we can, Song has years on his deal left so if we do sell him we can be sure Arsenal know what they are doing. So please, just believe the club knows what it is doing. We ask way so much of the club. We got 3 World Class players in. Sold 1. Song world class... no.
You ever watch Man Utd play? Rooney is a great teammate. He's a twat, but don't confuse that with being an egomaniac on the field. He played alongside Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez, Cheech and now Welbeck and seems to sublimate his natural game to help those players be more effective in theirs.
Yeah Rooney is one of the most unselfish stars I've ever seen. He'd have made a great Arsenal player, actually.
right, what should wenger do? buy a right back/centre half and a destroying central/defensive mid at home a fluid 4 2 3 1 vs top sides and utilise our posession based players and pacey outlets ....................giroud podolski......cazorla......gervinho ..............arteta...song (if he stays, otherwise a staty at home cm!) gibbs.....verm.....kos.....sagna .....................chezza at home, vs shit sides an agressive 4 4 2 would do the trick, giroud and podolski can be a nice partnership ..........giroud .......................podolski ox....................................cazorla .........arteta.......song gibbs...verm.....kos......sagna .................chezza utilise theo as an impact sub when we are down or drawing and against better sides with higher lines, play a more counter attacking system vs good sides also and utilise the playmaking of cazorla to find diagonal balls! i'm positive we can challenge this season, especially with a rb/cb and dm bought in (if song leaves!)
Cluttered house is a cluttered mind. We have a growing list of players that have proven they will not deliver what it takes to win trophies. Worrisome is that many on the list continue to show the same lack of improvement year after year. They are quality players for a middling team to be sure; but I am missing how Wenger does not see they are letting him down if he wants to compete for trophies when all those around him would never hold on to so many underperformers before upgrading the roster spot. Here is an off-the-top-of-the-head list. Bendtner Arshavin Chamakh Gervinho Djourou Frimpong On-the-bubble Mertesacker Rosisky
i'd take low transfer fees for guys like Chamakh, Bendtner, Denilson, Squillaci, etc... we just need to get them off the books. i harp about how the wage structure has to change, but the reality is that it just isn't feasible with the current setup.
I do not necessarily disagree; although your point could be telling about just where we stand. I considered him on the bubble based on last year’s performances. I had no problems with him yesterday, so I hope last year was more about fitness or new-to-the-league issues.
So, the Thread Title is "What Arsene needs to do now" Have we informed him of this? We should. Because I'm quite sure that he has no clue, what he is doing.
hm.. is Arsene "bad" still lol? Robin wanted to leave, and Song (IMO) was a nuisance to Arsene. Selling them cannot be so bad in that sense. The difference between this season and last is that Arsene has been proactive in getting replacements/new signings. Last season, he banked on Cesc/Na*ri staying and had to panic buy on the last day.
You would sell Gervinho? I'm still judging Mertesacker, but I would keep him as we need a fill-in if Kos/Vermaelan get injured.
I prefer to view it as replace. The point was not so much to quibble over each individual, as I agree each case is arguable-- some more than others; it is more about that list looks like a pretty big swath of the team (31% of first-team field players) who over their tenure have shown more ability to win you 4th place but not trophies. Not to dodge your question, I don’t know if Gerv is going to score more than a half dozen goals this year. He is just not showing the ability to do so in this league. I can count to 10 each time he gets the ball on the side of the box before he makes a move—which is invariably to the touchline before putting in a decent-at-times-ground-skimming cross. So if that is what you want to devote a position to then keep him; I am looking for a little more from that roster spot.
we won't see him at his best untill he goes wide right imo he isn't a goal scorer or particularly clinical so he shouldn't be played in a 'cutting inside' position
Dump: Santos Squillaci Arshavin Frimpong Chamakh Park Bendtner Buy: A new leftback- Dreaming of Leighton Baines but that probably wouldn't happen Another attacking midfielder- Keisuke Honda who can play down the middle and left wing Another striker- Llorente, Soldado or Leandro Damiao