plus Inter (altho not in a branding sense) and Juve... Arsenal are after all those clubs in terms of accomplishments, league they play in, history, and money... just outside of the true big boys and in the US, just imo, Arsenal are well behind Liverpool, United, Barca, Madrid, Chivas and Club America Arsenal has a lot of room for growth tho my real point is that sometimes our expectations get carried away in terms of were we are actually at and aspiring to become
I don't really agree with this. Italian teams have declining appeal globally. I don't see kids with Italian jerseys these days and I don't know anyone who is a fan of an Italian team. In the US, I don't think the Spanish clubs are bigger than the English clubs. I'd say this is also true in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. True about the Mexican teams, but thats irrelevant to the argument I'm making. That is a situation unique to the US and its demographics. Basic point is: EPL, by far the most popular global league - Arsenal, as such, competes on an even basis with the Spanish giants and is well ahead of the Italian clubs globally, even granting the points you make.
By your reasoning then Arsenal should get rid of anyone else who has less goals and assists than Arshavin. Like I said before, "You dont know how good you have it."
we are a bigger club than liverpool in modern terms prince, we have been better for nigh on 20 years on and off and DEFINITELY the entire wenger reign most new followers of football (last 10 years) will see liverpool as a one of cl winner who competes around 4th-6th spot
I agree with Bigman. The amount of non-expat Liverpool fans I've seen is very small. In terms of European club popularity over here I'd say: Barca > Manutd> Chelsea > Real > Arsenal > Both Milans > Liverpool > Bayern
I agree about new fans In regards to fans that are older (like 40-50) their are more Liverpool fans, all over the world And my point wasn't just from a marketing perspective... I meant history, silverware, in addition to marketability... Liverpool are the second biggest club in England and no one is really close to that I did not mean from just a marketable perspective
yeah, i agree historically, they have won more european cups than united still, maybe you can say they are still the 'best' historically, i think united need 1 more league title to overtake them right?
When football was televised abroad in the 80s via match of the day, Liverpool pretty much had the most airtime and the biggest stars When i was playing as a young boy in the 80s it was hard to find anyone who was not a liverpool fan, unless they had been to england, in which case they most likely supported the town they had lived in.
if any of you gooners want to see how popular arsenal are, go to alexa.com,they do stats for the popularity of websites etc, arsenal , united and madrid tower over all others in terms of web traffic. i would say that for a couple of years, up till last year, it must be said that liverpool were 'better' than arsenal imo, given their 2 finals in europe and koing arsenal from the cl in 2008.
Arsenal were actually far ahead in the 'social media wars' last time I saw it measured. Largely because of the high number of dedicated Arsenal blogs
arsenal need to get their hands on some americans. dont care how, if they could somehow get some yank talent they would own the north american market for the foreseable future.
Bendy is shit too, so I'm done with him. I never wanted to get rid of Andrei, just give him a seat on the bench. And yes, in terms of goals/assists no one is really that much better than Arshavin, though no one is that much worse either (this is still problematic, which is why I'd like to see a new striker and winger brought in). Add that to the fact that players like Nasri, Walcott, Cesc, Wilshere, etc. are much younger than Andrei with more upside and overall contribution (goals/assists aside) than Andrei. I don't know what your fascination is with statistics, but they only tell part of the tale, and the other part of that tale says that our team has been lacking in the attacking department and out of the lot, Arshavin is the oldest with the least upside, and thus by default should be put to the bench over some of the younger (albeit similarly performing) players. Either way, we need a few more players brought into this team that are class, because with the bunch we got we simply won't win.
Outside RVP, Walcott and maybe Cesc (when he's on his game), Arshavin and Nasri may be our two next best attacking threats (though I'd give the nod to Nasri). The fact that Arshavin is up there with Walcott in goal scoring events means little. It actually means that we need better attacking threats. Comparing Arshavin to the rest of our team since the new year doesn't say that much aside from the fact that our attacking threat since the new year has been lackluster. Arshavin's number may be good for a substitute, which is why I'd prefer him to ride the pine in place of someone like Hulk, who I believe would do a lot better. Again, the reason why I am not so critical of Nasri and Walcott (who are similar numbers-wise) is because they are younger and possess better traits (dribbling and technique for Nasri, acceleration and pace for Walcott). You can't tell me we are any better with Arshavin on the pitch than we are for Nasri (in Walcott's case its no question we need Theo more tha Andrei). Arshavin is older, lazy and inconsistent and in no way will improve in any of these areas before he retires. It's his overall technique and skill/talent (he's got decent pace too) that even keeps him on the team, IMO.
http://www.football365.com/john_nicholson/0,17033,8746_6865640,00.html I usaully dont like Jon Nicholson, but this is a good article on Arsenal...
Arsenal - summary of the 1999/2000 season "The 1999-2000 season was one of ultimate disappointment for the Gunners. Finishing 2nd in 2 major competitions (the Premiership and the UEFA Cup) would for most clubs be regarded as a success, but the fact that Arsenal finished 18 points behind Manchester United in the league, and were only in the UEFA Cup having failed in the Champions league led many to brand the season a failure." Sound familar....