Rome wasn't build in a day - the rebuilding thread

Discussion in 'Arsenal' started by bandwagongooner, Jun 22, 2020.

  1. bandwagongooner

    bandwagongooner Member+

    Dec 9, 2006
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I started this because I think it's clear that Arsenal are in a place where the only fix is a long-term plan of 2-3 years. Instead of focusing on one transfer window at a time I thought we could talk about what to do for 2023. It's also for discussing the non-Kroenke front office staff. (I would love the Kroenkes to go away, but it's unlikely at the moment).

    So is Raul worth keeping? What youth players can help us? How can we go about turning over almost the entire squad? Who do we keep? (obviously - Saka andMartinelli. Not sold on anyone else.)

    [​IMG]
    A visual representation of Arsenal's plan up to now
     
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  2. casoccerdad47

    casoccerdad47 Member+

    Mar 31, 2006
    Keep Tierney and Saliba; Arteta likes Nelson and Nketiah, but like you, I'm not sold on either yet; Throw Smith-Rowe and Osei-Tutu into the mix to see if they sink or swim. Go get Kokcu and/or Aouchechi and add a young center back to pair with Saliba, Upamecano if you can get him, and potentially you have a young nucleus that in two or three years could be very competitive.
     
  3. bandwagongooner

    bandwagongooner Member+

    Dec 9, 2006
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is there a role for buying more squad players who have some experience in England? United got a lot of mileage out of guys like John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher. We don't have anyone like that. A Ray Parlour or two would probably be helpful. Competent and versatile.
     
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  4. thebigman

    thebigman Member+

    May 25, 2006
    Birmingham
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Raúl is a fcuki g clown who makes short and shady deals with agents who are dodgy

    not sold on anyone at the club tbh, if edu is responsible for martinelli that’s cool

    the whole squad over the age of 25 can go as far as I’m concerned

    this requires a complete overhaul and change in ideology or philosophy at the club
     
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  5. And_ROOS

    And_ROOS Member+

    Dec 30, 2006
    Melbourne, Aus
    Agent deals are completely ********ing us at the moment and I worry it will cost Arteta because if he is a competent manager tactically who has taken a lot away from Pep, then he needs specific players for specific roles. And what worries me is that the higher ups will bring in players to get their agent mates a pay day, and we end up with players who don't fit in with what we need.
     
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  6. GunnerJacket

    GunnerJacket Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 18, 2003
    Gainesville, GA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Based on evidence Raul needs to go.

    Let Arteta scheme out a 2-year plan for the first team, culling as needed. Then have a new man in place to find new players with an emphasis on work rate and team work. ie: Players that definitively fill needs and will buy into the system rather than just being value purchases.
     
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  7. NorthBank

    NorthBank Member+

    Arsenal; NYRB
    United States
    Mar 29, 2006
    Connecticut
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    All of the above posts seem reasonable to me.

    And I suspect they would also seem reasonable to a guy like Lee Dixon, who I just listened to on the latest Handbrake Off podcast.

    Dicko's always struck me as a fairly wise, measured pundit. Not to mention a club legend in his own right, who was part of a few legendary team iterations.

    Two things he said stood out to me:

    1. This rebuild is going to take quite a few years. Arsenal are likely to be quite mediocre during that time. (paraphrased) :(

    2. Sure it's one of his pet-peeves I think, but he says a big part of the problem is who we have in the dressing room, poor attitudes, poor guidance and discipline (by team leaders especially). He cited Guendouzi as an example (including last weekend) of how we've lost the plot.

    I don't think he talked much about Raul and his lot (at least not on today's show) but personally I have serious doubts about this man. In fact, he's yet to impress me in any way.
     
  8. GunnerJacket

    GunnerJacket Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 18, 2003
    Gainesville, GA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    The locker room attitude is one of the reasons the club hired Arteta, no? Whether or not they could afford to say so publicly there was a distinct notion that they had to get a coach who would be as much a motivator as a tactician. That Wenger and Emery were too hands off in that regard and that allowed the poison pills to sour the whole lot, as it were.

    But yeah there are some guys on the squad who even if having some talent appear to be a detriment to making the whole thing work.
     
  9. The Jitty Slitter

    The Jitty Slitter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Bayern München
    Germany
    Jul 23, 2004
    Fascist Hellscape
    Club:
    FC Sankt Pauli
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    We are already mediocre and barely a top 10 side.

    I hope we will focus on younger talent via Edu.
     
  10. bandwagongooner

    bandwagongooner Member+

    Dec 9, 2006
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm concerned that there doesn't seem to be an overall plan. Are we going young? Are we selling? Are we looking for specific types of players? I don't really trust that anybody knows what type of player they want and how to identify that type of player.
     
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  11. CarlosKaiser

    CarlosKaiser Member+

    Arsenal
    United States
    Jul 30, 2018
    Kansas City
    Raul was supposed to be the guy that gets complicated deals done, which can be a valuable skill at a big club. No more getting rejected on your 40,000,001 deal for Suarez. Arsenal may not be making any of those types of deals anytime in the near future. They really need the Mislintat-type guy who will find undervalued gems who can increase their value if given the opportunity.
     
  12. Ofori

    Ofori Red Card

    Inter Milan
    Ghana
    May 9, 2020
    Arsenal may have to go younger
     
  13. The Jitty Slitter

    The Jitty Slitter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Bayern München
    Germany
    Jul 23, 2004
    Fascist Hellscape
    Club:
    FC Sankt Pauli
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    Are we rebuilding?

    Or just sinking
     
  14. ArsenalJake

    ArsenalJake Member+

    Feb 11, 2013
    Charlotte
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Arsenal gonna keep on doing Arsenal. This entire thread is fantasy. Kroenke isn't going anywhere. Raul isn't going anywhere, the club isn't going anywhere.

    I doubt being competitive is anywhere near the top 3 concerns at the club right now either. I'd say the top concerns are to not go bankrupt, keep Arteta from peeking behind the curtains, and finding a band of gypsies to buy our aging, overpaid players.
     
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  15. Ofori

    Ofori Red Card

    Inter Milan
    Ghana
    May 9, 2020
    Yeah to think Arsenal we were once the superior club in the EPL or we were one of the elite clubs in not just England but in all of Europe and now look at what we have become
     
  16. chjoak

    chjoak Member+

    Jun 17, 2009
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Got this from another board...

    Head of Football - Raul Sanllehi

    Former Manager - Emery (his agent is Arturo Canales who is Sanllehi's BFF)

    Technical Director - Edu (his agent is Kia Joorabchian).

    Veteran centre-half - David Luiz (his agent is Kia Joorabchian).

    Injured right-back - Cedric Soares (his agent is Kia Joorabchian).

    Spanish centre-half - Pablo Mari (his agent is Arturo Canales)

    And let's not forget that Sanllehi not only didn't want to sack Emery, but proposed a contract extension
     
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  17. Ofori

    Ofori Red Card

    Inter Milan
    Ghana
    May 9, 2020
    It is no wonder why we are the way we are
     
  18. Serengeti_Boy

    Serengeti_Boy Member+

    Sep 15, 2009
    Serengeti, East Africa
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Tanzania
    It's common to have such relations. Like Raiola and Mendes. Difference is they get value for their money
     
  19. bandwagongooner

    bandwagongooner Member+

    Dec 9, 2006
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kroenke is gonna be surprised af when he learns about relegation and the franchise value drops by 40%.
     
  20. Ofori

    Ofori Red Card

    Inter Milan
    Ghana
    May 9, 2020
    I can't see Arsenal being relegated...we are too good for that
     
  21. And_ROOS

    And_ROOS Member+

    Dec 30, 2006
    Melbourne, Aus
    This is the worst we have been in a long time and the worst we dropped was 11th before the win last week. We have just enough not shit players to pound the relegation fodder. But we have to hope Pool take their foot off the pedal now they have won the league or they might turn us by 5 or 6 goals.
     
  22. KozIsCul

    KozIsCul Member+

    Feb 6, 2005
    This situation is bad, but maybe not as bad as we thought. The manager is good, but the midfield is crap. In various ways, Ceballos, Torreira and Douzi have all substantially underperformed our expectations of them. And unfortunately, Xhaka has been exactly what we expected.

    As a consequence, our buildup play has been atrocious and we're basically a counterattacking side now, starving a lot of good-form high quality attacking talent for service. The upshot is, the turnaround might not be as far away as some of us have feared. Basically, we need two things: first of all, we need to rebuild the entire midfield, like five or so new players. Second, we need to dial down the wage structure to the point where it's commensurate with our level of success over the last 3-5 years. The latter is the more strategic, probably the more important long term. Without it, we can't get rid of the players we don't want any more, which has been our Achilles heel back to Wenger even. And with the David Luiz/Kia crap, we've regressed, unfortunately, even after we've had to bite bullet with Ramsey and Ozil.
     

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