I would be quite surprised if City were exiting Sterling after his last year But maybe they need to clear some headroom? Alexis is obviously the kind of player that would fit with Pep
Ox wants Liverpool, Arsenal want Lemar Liverpool will end up with Lemar and Ox will stay at Arsenal. Arsene will make him captain.
Because Ox wants to play midfield. In a team that's stacked with midfielders and just signed Naby Keita
36 more hours until the excuse-o-rama begins. I can't even say I'm disappointed by the lack of incoming players, because there is no one we could sign to turn things around.
Sums up my thoughts: Have to say, us Arsenal fans have handled the last few days well. Enjoying the ride with a laugh as opposed to getting wound up. 👏🏼— AFCAMDEN (@AFCAMDEN) August 30, 2017
Because you get to the point where you stop crying and start laughing and for most of us that was when we finished 2nd to Leicester...
I still feel we were unlucky that season: we were comfortably the best team in the league (per xG) that season, but Leicester got something like 15 penalties (including Vardy's dive at the Emirates). This summer started well, but the last month has felt clueless. I'm also still surprised that Gazidis is still at Arsenal.
This. I think a large percentage of Arsenal fans who, three years ago, would have been enraged by the type of ineptitude we are (again) seeing this summer are now basically like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
http://www.espnfc.com/club/arsenal/...-sanchez-would-make-mockery-of-arsenal-policy McNicholas pretty much nails it.
I disagree that selling now would make a "mockery" of things. It's already a mockery of the club now so what matters is, as always, trying to make things right from this point forward. If Sanchez is going to be a cancer and you can make good money for him then take the deal. It's not as if his presence alone would've/should've meant the difference in the final table or qualifying for the CL. There are simply too many other little things that must be improved, can be improved, and would arguably have a bigger impact. Put another way, had Arsenal sold him about the time they got Lacca I'm sure plenty of folks would've regarded that as a net positive for the attack given all the gripes about Sanchez' positioning and ballhog moments. So why should that be different now? Yeah, the timing looks bad but then again now that we've seen the games thus far and know that Alexis is no longer vested in the team how can keeping him in the fold in any way be considered a point of pride? Sanchez has talent and I'd love for him to do well for Arsenal and don't want to sell him to a rival, but based on all the evidence I can't really envision a happy successful scenario for this season with him sulking around and not truly contributing to the club on the pitch and in the dressing room.
See I find this to be wildly too pessimistic. Arsenal missed the CL last year by 1 point. It's not like we've turned into Southampton overnight, no matter how poor our performance was on Sunday. So to simply concede the season and maximize revenues is arguably the WORST move the club could make at this time. Yes. If he was sold 2 months ago most people would have moved on and assumed that thee was a plan. But to spend the last 2 months adamantly saying that you were NOT going to sell Alexis and then sell him at the last minute with CLEARLY no plan to replace him would be an open admission of incompetence. I think people are assuming that Sanchez is far more miserable than he is. If he REALLY wanted to leave he would have submitted a transfer request.
How so? The nearly universal complaint is about Sanchez's lack of positional discipline, while that is Pep's mantra, no?
Me too. And I've long wondered what value he adds. But I guess the Kroenkes like him too? And/or he kisses their butts nice.
Who says I'm conceding the season? I even imply the team might be better without him. IMO his play is erratic and at times counterintuitive to whatever system Arsenal are trying to play. He's given a pass because his individual skills allow for moments of greatness. But there's a reason he hasn't been placed among the giants of the day and it's because he's too inconsistent. Last week he played disinterested and disconnected. The result was a game with 0 shots on goal. If he really wants to leave and is held back then we'll get more of the same. To me that's not benficial. I agree it reeks of having no plan but what we're seeing is the roster equivalent of a half time asjustment. Plan A (keep him and convince him to buy in) isn't working. Selling now will perhaps make the summer look foolish, but imagine if he's kept and the year turns out even worse and he then leaves on a free? How foolish would things look then? This is the choice the team has to make. More importantly, this is where they need to realistic in their ability to reach him. (And Ozil, Ox, etc.) Maybe, but he looked miserable Sunday and hasn't exactly been talking up the old Arsenal badge since...? Besides, don't players or agents lose out on some cut of contracts if the go the formal request route? Would that request make a difference, anyway, if Arsene's being stubborn and Alexis is just gonna pout till he gets his way? Bottom line is I want a team with heart and trying to win, and for me a half-hearted Sanchez isn't so vital to the team that I'm gonna treat him like Henry.
The player who played a big role in us missing 4th by just 1 point is just about gone, the squad is weaker than it was last season, going against rivals who have strengthened considerably, and the players have lost faith in the manager. Even our transfer business suggests that this season is a write-off. The Liverpool game may have been the final straw, but this quagmire we are in has been building up for a long time. Cashing in is the only sensible option we have left.
#LFC agree £35m fee with #Arsenal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after he snubbed #CFC.— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) August 30, 2017 100m between Ox and Sanchez is a good bit of business, and will undercut the "no money" excuse we seem to be going with.
It is possible that Sanchez, via the tutelage of his agent, is being pragmatic. Either he gets the move he wants this year or he moves next year for (potentially) even more money on a free. Not sure if there is a "loyalty bonus" clause in his contract but, that could be there too (though we have waived those in the past) as it is nullified by a request. My sole issue with selling him is timing. That money can go nowhere now (I know, probably wasn't in July, August or any other month where we could have sold with plenty of time on the clock).
It's hard to imagine a scenario where the team will improve without him. Unless we what to convict him solely for last Sunday which seems misplaced to me. He was probably no. 7 on my list of guilty paycheck thieves on Sunday. A team appears willing to pay 70 million for him despite him being almost 29 and having only a year left on his contract. Seems like he is valued by at lest some teams. You could say the same thing about the entire team. Let's not turn that result into an entire season though. Imagines he goes off to City and score 25 goals while this team struggles to score. Because that is a distinct possibility. Well it makes it clear that he wants to leave. It gives Wenger less room to squirm. Who are the players on the squad who you don't think are half-hearted right now? I think people confuse frustration with lack of desire. IMO, Ox was the only player on the pitch I thought clearly didn't want to be there.
Exactly my point. I think selling him now gives a TERRIBLE messages to the fans, the players and future prospective players. It is an admission of failure.