From Dennis Michael : Arsene Wenger
According to various newspapers this morning, the Mata deal is “dead”.
From Arsene Wenger: “This deal is dead…and I don’t have to give any reason”.
Mata is an exciting and potentially influential addition to our squad and, through the media, we were given to believe – and excited by – the news that the deal was virtually done and dusted.
I have supported Arsenal for over 60 years – and in all my time supporting this wonderful club, I truthfully cannot remember a single statement from any Arsenal manager that is so incredibly and blatantly arrogant.
Once again the supporter is of secondary consideration to this man.
Supporters who continue to pay sky high, excessive monies for their season tickets are treated disgracefully and with total disregard for their constant loyalty.
From Jon : So what do you do when …
Project Youth No.1 has failed?
You bring on Alex, Joel, Emmanuel and Ryo and promptly embark on Project Youth No.2 of course!
Duh!!!
From PJ : season eve angst
Sorry Myles, but I need to get some of this Arsene FC angst off my chest.
I’m so disappointed in Arsenal and so sick of the noise from Arsene.
He just makes no sense – the man has lost it.
Let me try and make some points with this rant:
Transfer Planning – why is it so woeful?
In Wenger’s early days he stated the most important time for a manager was June and July when he signed the players….what changed? Yes a lack of cash because of the stadium but there were still deals to be done. I think Dein was the only one with any balls in the transfer market.
Goalkeepers – Look at the end of the season before last.
He clearly knew Almunia was a major weak link and dropped him in April, after we dropped out of the title race. He therefore had from April 2010 until August 2010 to buy a keeper. He didn’t stump up the cash for anyone and then amazingly started him as number 1 for 2010-11, until Almunia cost us a home defeat to West Brom.
The second-rate keeper is still on the books as we start the 2011-2012 season.We are still in need of an experienced Keeper to challenge Szczesny. Why didn’t he request Given in a swap deal for Clichy?
Centreback issues
I won’t even go on about Sol re-signing the season before last because of his lack of defensive signings. He went for Jagielka last summer and instead of stumping up the cash for him he bought two French centre halves and we all know how successful this area of the pitch was last year.
This summer he goes in half-hearted for Jagielka again. If you want players, identify them early and start negotiating as soon as the season is over. (in Arsenal’s case it was April again in 2011 as they bottled any chance of a title tilt). Get the players early, pay the going rate and get them in for pre-season. Why has he not signed Cahill?
Cesc & Nasri
It was clear both wanted out, again do it early and rebuild with the money with quality players like Mata. I understand the Cesc situation. Wenger has let him down, bought him into the invicibles, then got rid of the invincibles relacing them with dross and leaving Cesc and Van Persie to try and win with mediocre team mates.
Nasri is just chasing the money and then Wnger insults the fans further by giving this sulker the armband in some of the pre-season games.Has Wenger earnt nothing with players entering the later stages of their contracts? Look at Flamini, he was keeping Diarra out of the team, but refused to sign a new deal and then we lost both of them. He should have dropped Flamini and played Diarra –
Maybe then he would still be playing in front of the back 4 instead of the overrated Song (Istill havent forgiven him for him smirking and a lack of focus as he came on at 4-2 in the infamous 4-4 verus Spurs a few years back.) Wenger then continues to p rotect Cesc and Nasri clearly knowing they want out.
They should have been training alone. He should be honest with the fans and shame them in public, saying they dont want to be part of the club anymore.
Development and Feeder Club
For the first time Arsenal is seen by players as somewhere to develop as a player, make a name for yourself, earn a fortune for winning nothing and bottling every oportunity to win anything and then jumping ship at the first opportunity (Flamini, Hleb, Cesc, Nasri).
Players used to play for us into their peak before we let them go.
They way the club is run, the project will never work because as soon as a player reaches a certain level he wants out. There is a real need for balance in the Arsenal squad.Players just dont show the pride required to wear the shirt.
Stronger Management
Something needs to change, either the aging board or the manager.
We need some Arsenal winners in the dug out to drum into these guys what it means to represent the club. Keown would be a good start as a coach. Vieira choosing to be a coach at City rather than Arsenal sums up the current climate at the club.
Adaption to the changing face of football –
Wenger continues to blame Chelski and City’s oil funded teams as unfair. It is unfair but thats the way it is. You have to adapt to the changing competition and find ways to compete. Utd change, buy and have a strong character to compete. Arsenal just moan and bottle the challenge.
Dross Website.
The content on Arsenal’s website is poor and they make a mockery of themselves.
Stories such as Jenkinson chooses the number 25 shirt beacuse that is his parents House number really don’t warrant reporting. And then the photos of Chamberlain, they could not even afford socks and boots for the boy in a few of the photos.
The other half made it look like he had an attitide problem.
Just publish one photo wth him smiling holding the shirt and be done with it.
I could go on but I’m tired.
The Arsenal Crisis goes on.
From Scott : The sagacious Alsatian
It seems our canny commander is playing the transfer market to perfection – to accomplish his own agenda.
Back in May he knew money needed to be spent.
He knew who was going to leave. He knew his list of targets. He could have completed all of his business by the first week of July.
But then he would not have had an excuse for failure in the upcoming season. By leaving all of his major dealings until the first full week of the new season he has a ready-made get-out clause for the season ahead – his new squad didn’t have time to gel.
He is now sitting at home writing scripts for his press and fan conferences focusing on how this is a ‘transitional season’. We should not expect immediate success with a team which has been dismantled and rebuilt in such a short period of time, especially since they didn’t get any pre-season practice matches together. We’ll be told we shouldn’t expect a new winning team to be built overnight, but that ‘next year’ will be the season to judge the new team.
And yet, even as I write this, I find myself half buying the story.
I hate being an Arsenal fan sometimes.
From James R: New Season
What will this new-look Arsenal side do this season?
That is what most of us are thinking.
It’s looking like Jadson, a Brazilian unknown from Shakhtar Donetsk, will be tasked with having to partly replace Fabregas in the team. At nearly 28 years old and 4 caps for the worst Brazil side possibly ever, the signs are not good. I was told he wasn’t one of the top 5 Brazilians playing for the Ukrainians. Yes you have read that one right.
Of course the side includes talents such as Douglas Costa, Dentinho and our own Brazilian born Eduardo amongst others. LB will between Gibbs and Traore, one injury prone, the other unable to defend.
One advantage Traore has unlike others, is he is not a man to be messed with by those who battle Arsenal into submission. A prominent kickboxer while younger, also arrested for carrying a knuckle duster into White Hart Lane. Not a great defender but a useful squad player. Centre Back has been a problem position for Arsenal for 5 years at least. And it will continue to be. Two average French defenders bought last summer have meant we will be seeing problems for alot longer. Djourou seems to regressed.
Wenger knows how much Jagielka is worth. He also knows Everton are desperate for money. He has had 3 bids rejected for penny pinching, will he have 4, I doubt even he wants that embarrassment.
As with Cahill, Bolton another financially troubled club want decent money for him. Wenger has seen 1 year left on his contract also and won’t pay market value. With pressure on, he just do so. While Cahill may be signed, along with Mata, Jadson etc, these signings seem like pipe dreams for Arsenal fans. It’s quite sad really, as none of them are experienced or leaders, in other words none will transform Arsenal into title challengers.
Unlike deals the two Manchester clubs have made.
As for this week, two heavily weakened sides Udinese and Newcastle pose a real threat. I foresee at least one defeat, especially with our better players absent.
A long season awaits us. Time to take up golf
From Harry Smith : Wenger’s quotes
Myles,
HOW is this possible?
How can a manager say,”I expect nobody to leave” 30 minutes before the club announces the departure of a player? How can a manager say, “We currently have four central defenders, and so there is no need for another” only 2 weeks after saying the exact opposite?
He is lying out of his ass! He is staring into people’s eyes and lying!
You know how things work and I don’t, but isn’t this some sort of punishable offense?
Isn’t there anything people can legally do against this sort of thing? I’m a little confused.
Myles says:
It’s mind-boggling to think that this Friday morning press conference has been broadcast all round the world.
Reporter: “Arsene, do you expect Cesc and Samir to leave the club by the weekend?”
Wenger : “I expect nobody to leave the club.”
Can any ANR reader describe this performance in one word?