Up the Arse! Goons Thread
- Thread starter windyhill
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- #9,477
Absolute bunch of ******* cowards, outhunted from whistle to whistle by a team that's 14th with nothing to play for.
No European football to deal with and still couldn't get top 4.
I assume next season if we finish 5th or 6th the apologists will say that to still qualify for Europe whilst dealing with a European competition is more progress.
We spent 100 million on 3 players in our backline in the summer, yet have gone from 39 goals conceded to 47 with a game to play lol.
Amazing Arteta still has another 3 years to run on his contract after the 2.5 seasons we've had.
No European football to deal with and still couldn't get top 4.
I assume next season if we finish 5th or 6th the apologists will say that to still qualify for Europe whilst dealing with a European competition is more progress.
We spent 100 million on 3 players in our backline in the summer, yet have gone from 39 goals conceded to 47 with a game to play lol.
Amazing Arteta still has another 3 years to run on his contract after the 2.5 seasons we've had.
His comments are very accurate. Unusual to see that kind of honesty though and calling it like it is about his teammates.
Bet thinks he is Arsenals best player.
Interesting nuance there. Always had the feeling there was a bit of a trade off to make after a heavy investment last summer, and the punting of Aubameyang in January.
Perhaps enough was enough from KSE. How many blokes have Arsenal paid off in the last 18 months, literally cancelling their contracts and giving them a bag of money to go away. You can only do that stuff for so long without implications.
I get the sense Arteta was told to make do with what he had in January. Loaning out AMN when we did was still ridiculous imo, you look back now at some of these decisions and think all you needed was a couple of points here and there. But there’s nowhere to hide now.
Can’t escape the irony of the last two losses, against Spurs and Newcastle. Both teams strengthened in January and have considerably improved since. And Arsenal got nowhere near them in the last 2 fixtures with so much to play for. Almost poetic.
I've never understood why people blame Kroenke for not investing in the club, when he clearly has. Over the last 5 seasons we've spent €371m on player transfers. Only the two Manchester Clubs have spent more.
And as you've said above, there have also been a lot of losses to get off the books that need to be absorbed by the club. The delusion amongst Arsenal fans is that because Kroenke is a billionaire he should be going Abramovich/Sheikh Mansour mode and just fantasy football the club. Have a look at all the American owners, that's not their style and never will be.
January is a notoriously difficult time to get transfers done. I have no doubt that the club considered options to improve the team in that window but the finances of trying to buy in January (with clubs not wanting to sell during the season + not knowing whats happening with loans etc) makes it too difficult. I'm ok with running with a thin squad as now we know what issues need to be addressed.
If rumors are to be believed we'll be looking at spending around another €100m this off-season. The issue is spending it right.
Hickey from Bologna almost done.
Well if history is any indication:
1. Continued inability to take points off tops team.
2. A team with no plan B, with an inability to comeback from behind in games.
3. Each loss sending the team into a spiral that takes several games to recover from.
4. Players out of favour being frozen out to point of losing all transfer currency.
- Make top 4 in 2/3 seasons
- Make semis of the Europa League/Conference league/Banana league whatever its called - Push to win it
- Qualify for the Champions League proper
- Establish a consistent tactical identity
- Create a squad of 25 players with depth in all positions
Yes the owners aren't as apathetic as they once were. In recent seasons they (mostly Josh) have been much more active and whilst I'm unsure if its owners funds per se (I believe its more so through the Barclay's facility and re-structing of the stadium debt), there's no question mark over their willingness to spend/invest in the squad. They're doing well in that department now.
They have backed Arteta to the hilt, and are very much invested in seeing this "project" through. Arteta has to wear the repurcussions of his decisions. There's only so many times you can go back to the well to ask for a large hit to the cashflow in paying blokes to leave your club (Ozil, Sokratis, Mustafi, Kolasinac etc etc). On top of that he signs Willian to a ridiculous wage and tenure, then punts him a third of the way in. Another payout. Extends Aubameyang on 300k a week, then half way through it he does it again.
I can imagine that during the conversations with KSE when he was there in January briefly, it would have been put to him "are you sure there's no other way, can we perhaps repatriate him into the squad as we may need the option of his goals in the next 4 months, then sell him in the summer?". Rightly or wrongly, Arteta has his convictions and he gets backed by the owners unlike his predecossor. In that respect a healthy relationship between the owners and manager is a good thing for the club. I can't fault that.
January was a gamble at the time that didn't pay off unfortunately. A crucial summer ahead. The money will be there, it just has to be utilised wisely as you mentioned.
- Banned
- #9,488
Yeah that's a pretty low bar, should be achievable for any half decent manager.
choked the pen to lose the Europa finalYou hinting at something?
He was the only player to miss I believe, after being subbed in during extra time to take a penalty. Just hasn’t worked out for him at Juve. Completely forgot he was loaned out to Rangers.
I don’t really recall him as a regular penalty taker at Arsenal. Shouldn’t have happened really. A very tame penalty as well, bit of a hit and hope.
Arteta and the team have made some big mistakes with the squad RE Aubameyang, Ozil (although both of them had very big issues) and others no doubt BUT i still think we look at what's happened over the last 2 windows:
Ramsdale, Gabriel, White, Tomiyasu, Tierney, Partey, Ødegaard and Martinelli have all come in and cemented their places in the starting 11 (injuries permitting). Add in Saka and Smith-Rowe from the academy. Lets say the rumors are true and we bring in Gabriel Jesus (Wide forward/Striker) and Aaron Hickey (Left back). If we add Matt Turner (backup keeper), Saliba (loan return), Bellerin (loan return), Maitland-Niles (loan return) and Holding (depth backup) then the squad looks a little better depth wise. Lokonga, Marquinhos and Tavares are longer term projects.
IMO Lacazette, Xhaka, Cedric, Nketiah, Pepe, Nelson and Leno all get moved on in this window. El Neny should go too but wont because he's decent depth and doesn't cost us a lot in wages.
To me the biggest concern is still the middle of the park. We still need a genuine superstar there to play between Ødegaard and Partey. Until we address that issue then we'll continue to struggle regardless of any other changes we make.
Interesting window to say the least!
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- #9,497
I agree with all your outs.
MEN should stay IMO. He is limited, but a good squad player and does what is asked of him.
Not sure about Bellerin or AMN though. AMN definitely doesn't want to be here, and Bellerin has definitely regressed.
Bellerin HAD regressed but is coming off a really good season in La Liga with Betis (currently 5th). I think the loan would have done him a world of good both mentally and physically. I think the Bellerin that comes back will be different to the one that left. He's also still only 27, home grown, massively experienced, loves Arsenal and is a better option than Cedric as a rotation player. It also means we don't have to fork out money just yet on a backup RB. I'm not sure there are too many clubs that would be able to meet our price evaluation as I wouldn't sell him for less than £20m
Ainsley Maitland-Niles hasn't set the world on fire at Roma, true, and will probably get sold but again I think we could do worse than keeping him as a backup option.
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