The forward is expected to
leave his current club in the coming window, with Porto said to be in need of funds.
Gundogan: Manchester United & Arsenal target will
leave current club in the summer
Not exact matches
The player's agent, and brother, has since stated that Gonzalo will not be willing to sign a new deal with his
current club Napoli, and even talks of the possibility of
leaving for free
in two years time.
The Sun is reporting that Arsenal are now
in pole position to sign the talented young German and with his
current club apparently set to
leave him out of their Champions League squad for next season he certainly seems to be available and for not all that much money either.
Antoine has recently come out
in the press to insist he will only
leave his
current club should Diego Simeone go, and the Argentine boss appears to be putting some work into a move.
And Wenger must be impressed about how well the 22 - year old has been doing
in his loan spells with a number of different Spanish
clubs, most recently a full season
in La Liga with Almeria, because ESPN are reporting that Arsenal have begun talks with the promising young player, with the intention to get him to sign a new contract extension, with just a year
left to run on his
current deal.
The Togolese striker is surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane after failing to break
in manager Mauricio Pochettino's plans for large parts of last season and it appears the
club are desperate to get him off the wage bill this summer despite the player only having one more year
left to run on his
current deal.
The right back was born
in Barcelona and spent eight years
in the youth system with the
current La Liga champions and that, along with the recent record the Catalan
club has of taking our players and the news that their long serving Brazilian international Dani Alves is
leaving, it is hardly surprising that Arsenal fans were worried that Bellerin might end up
leaving us.
This could well mean that a third Leicester City player has snubbed the advances of our
club in this window, following Jamie Vardy's much - publicised decision not to
leave his
current club, while Kante preferred to join Chelsea.
However, top European
clubs such as Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are reportedly keen on signing him, and if he were to
leave his
current employers, it would have to be this summer
in order to avoid seeing them lose him for nothing next year.
However, it had been previously thought that the midfielder would rather stay
in Holland rather than move to England, so the aforementioned
clubs may face a task
in convincing him to
leave his
current side.
The midfielder is thoroughly expected to be moving
clubs in the coming window, having refused to sign a new contract with the Blues, with just one year
left to run on his
current deal.
In the midfield, (including RWB & LWB) we have a whole bunch of tweeners... none offer the full package, none make sense in our manager's current favourite formation, except for Sead on the left and Ox on the right, and all of them have never shown any consistency for more than a heartbeat... Sead, who I'm including in this category because of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
In the midfield, (including RWB & LWB) we have a whole bunch of tweeners... none offer the full package, none make sense
in our manager's current favourite formation, except for Sead on the left and Ox on the right, and all of them have never shown any consistency for more than a heartbeat... Sead, who I'm including in this category because of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in our manager's
current favourite formation, except for Sead on the
left and Ox on the right, and all of them have never shown any consistency for more than a heartbeat... Sead, who I'm including
in this category because of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in this category because of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do
in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play
in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in previous seasons, seems to have found a home
in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put
in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on
club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently
in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his
left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting...
in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger'
in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this
club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger's)
Up front we have a few world - class players surrounded by some serious pretenders... Sanchez is by far the most accomplished player
in our attack but the controversy surrounding his contractual mishandling could see him go before the window closes or most definitely by season's end... obviously a mistake by both parties involved, as Sanchez's exploits have never been more on display than
in North London, but the
club's irresponsible wage structure and lack of real intent have been the real undoing
in this mess... Lacazette, who I think has some world - class skills as a front man, will only be as good as the players and system around him, which is troubling due to our
current roster and Wenger's love of sideways passing... Walcott should have been sold years ago, enough said, and Welbeck should never have been brought
in from the get - go... both of these players have suffered numerous injuries over their respective careers and neither are good enough to overcome such difficulties: not to mention, they both are below average first - touch players, which should be the baseline test for any player coming to a Wenger - led Arsenal team... Perez should have been played wide
left or never purchased at all; what a huge waste of time and money, which is ridiculous considering our penny pinching ways and the fact that fans had been clamoring for a real striker for years... finally Giroud, the fact that he stills wears the jersey is a direct indictment of this
club's failure to get things right... this isn't necessarily an attack on Giroud because I think he has some highly valued skills, but not for a team that has struggled to take their sideways soccer to the next level, as his presence slows their game even more, combined with our average, at best, finishing skills... far too often those
in charge have either settled or chosen half - measures and ultimately it is us that suffer because no matter what happens Wenger, Gazidis and Kroenke will always make more money whereas we will always be the ones paying for their mistakes... so every time someone suggests we should just shut - up and support the team just think of all the sacrifices you've made along the way and simply reply... f *** off
He also does not fit FO's description of players who (paraphrasing): «did not want to
leave their
clubs during the
current transfer window
in order to make sure they did not lose their spot at the World Cup», considering that Bobby Wood's country isn't going.
I'm so sick of people telling those of us who are disgruntled fans to relax and give this
club time to correct itself... for anyone who believes that taking a wait - and - see approach is appropriate at this juncture they should take a good long look at themselves
in the mirror because they are a big part of the problem... no other «big»
club's fans would stand for this shit for nearly as long as we have... think about it, we've witnessed a changing of the guard at every major
club in England, Spain, France and Germany
in the last several years because those «big»
clubs failed to live up to expectations (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern, PSG, Chelsea, ManU, ManCity etc...)... for some reason, many fans have become as fragile as our
current manager, believing that there couldn't possibly be a suitable replacement, even though everyone of these
clubs have found multiple replacements and still achieved far more than our
club... this mindset has been created by an organization that has been milking it's fans, telling countless lies (no world class players available) and lowering expectations every since they rolled out the biggest lie of all: that we couldn't spend because of the new stadium but once it was paid off we could compete with any team
in the world... this organization is rotting from the inside out and if we don't demand that those
in charge put soccer first this despicable behaviour won't end with Wenger's ridiculous 2 year contract... I think the real fear isn't that a suitable replacement doesn't exist, but that this organization is so money hungry and poorly mismanaged that we will sink even lower by choosing our next coach the same way they choose our players, on the cheap... even so, we need to see what mustache will do if
left to his own devices so he will have to show his true colours... only then can we purge this
club and start anew
The Arsenal fans were instantly wondering how the Bosnian international would fit
in and I'm sure that is even more true of the
club's
current options at
left back, Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs, and I think that both could be feeling a little more secure right now, especially the Spaniard.
we have waited a long time for this
club to truly step up, which is a difficult ask... to do so properly they will need to overextend themselves and get well outside the comfort zone they have become accustomed to... at the very least they owe their fans, most of whom supported this franchise for at least the first 8 years of this 10 year plan, one real shot at the «promised» land... remember phase one was build and save, phase two was the fire sale of all our top players, phase three was supposed to be our metamorphosis, when we were literally told how we could compete with any
club in the world and phase four appears to be rinse and repeat, under the guise that we just can't seem to find any players that are better than our
current lot (can you even imagine the state of world soccer if that were truly the case)... it's time for you Mr. Kroenke and Mr. Wenger to ask not what the fans can do for you, but what you two can do to make things right again for the fans... if you can't do this earnestly and honestly, simply move on before the only thing
left in the cupboard are bitter memories and what could have beans?
Arsenal and Manchester United target hoping to
leave current club Arsenal to submit $ 30m bid for Italy striker
in January transfer window
Part of me feels he could one day make the switch from
left - back into a winger, which could well have him more suited to a move to the Blues, as he would likely relish a run
in their newly inherited wing - back role, but I hope he decides to move a little further away from his
current club.
Premier League champions Chelsea are close to signing Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre - Emerick Aubameyang
in a # 65M deal, which would allow
current striker Diego Costa to
leave the
club, according to the Mirror.
Arsenal fans are well aware that as well as looking to use the summer transfer window to bring
in new blood and strengthen the
current Arsenal playing staff
in key areas, the manager is faced with the task of stopping some of the Gunners from
leaving our
club.
Chelsea have allowed Nemanja Matic, Ruben Loftus - Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah, Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake all to
leave the
club in the
current window, while outcasting Diego Costa also, and have brought
in only three signings to replace them.
From what the report
in Metro says about our plans to sign the 22 - year old Argentina international Mauro Icardi and the players reasons for wanting to
leave his
current club Inter Milan, you get the impression that a concerted effort from Arsenal might well have seen the young striker at the Emirates Stadium right now.
It seems as though the improvement
in form and playing opportunities enjoyed by the Arsenal and England international striker Danny Welbeck since he decided to
leave his former
club Manchester United have not been noticed or not registered much on his former
club and
current international team mate Chris Smalling.
Then we hear of a contract offer to Jack.Reportedly on 25 % LESS than his
current contract.This to me shows Wenger wanted him out.Wenger didn't want him.Wenger was prepared to let him
leave in the summer for free.This issue was highly publicised and as there has been no denial from the
Club OR Wenger himself we can assume the facts are correct.
This is the sort of player that we hear Wenger bemoaning is not available but Sky Sports are reporting that Ibrahimovic himself has confirmed that he will be
leaving his
current club PSG this summer and we have already heard that he fancies a stint
in the English Premier League.
I know many of you are hoping that he does finish his spell at the end of his
current contract, but I'm not ready for the uncertainty that it will
leave our
club in for the future.
Arsenal remain interested
in Morata as well as Everton's Romelu Lukaku, who also seems to have made his mind up on
leaving his
current club.
Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are both
leaving the
club, which could free up space for the pair to come
in, but Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are the
current first - choice for a starting role
in North - London, and accommodating the quartet could be tough.
His
current club and manager will, of course be very keen to keep him and are saying that there is no way that he will be
leaving in January, but we know that does not necessarily mean that they will succeed.
David De Gea has just a year to run on his
current Man United contract [via the Daily Mail] and as such, could
leave the
club on a free transfer
in 12 months» time.
The Man City star appears to be trying to force his
club to give him one last bumper contract, but with a season
left remaining on his
current deal, they appear to have very little power
in negotiations.
The craziest thing about his form is that it comes amongst the player being deeply unhappy
in his
current situation, and barely even turns up to training as he looks to
leave his
current club.
players like Ozil always present the fans with a bit of a conundrum, especially when times are tough... if you look around the sporting world every once
in awhile there emerges a player with incredible skill, like Ozil, Matt Sundin or even Jay Cutler, who have a different way about themselves... their movement seemed almost too lackadaisical, so much so that it seemed to suggest indifference or even disinterest on the part of the player... their posture always appears somewhat mopey and they generally have an unflattering «sour puss» expression on their face... for some their above average skills are enough to keep them squarely
in the mix, as their respective teams try desperately to find a way to get the best out of them visa vie player acquisitions or the reworking of tactics... when things go according to planned the fans usually find a way to accept their unique disposition, whereas when things go awry they become easy targets for fans and pundits alike...
in the case of Ozil and Sundin, their successes on the international stage and / or with their former teams led many to conclude that if we surrounded such talented individuals with players that have those skills that would most likely bring the best of these players success would surely follow... unfortunately both the Maple
Leafs and our
club chose to adopt half - measures, as each were being run by corporations who valued profitability over providing the best possible product on the field... for them, they cared more about shirt sales and season tickets than doing whatever was necessary... this isn't, by any stretch, an attempt to absolve Ozil of any responsibility for his failures on the pitch... there is no doubt oftentimes his efforts were underwhelming, to say the least, but this
club has been inept when it comes to providing this prolific passer with the kind of players necessary for him to flourish... with our poor man's version of Benzema up front, the headless chickens
in Walcott, the younger Ox and Welbeck occupying wide positions far too often and the fact that Carzola, who provided Ozil with great service and more freedom to roam, was never truly replaced, the only real skilled outlet on the pitch was Sanchez... remember to be considered a world - class set - up man goals need to be scored and for much of his time here he has been surrounded by some incredibly inept finishers...
in the end, I'm not sure how long he will be
in North London, recent sentiments and his present contract situation seem to suggest that he will depart at season's end, but how tragic would it be if once again we didn't put our best foot forward and failed to make those moves that could have brought championship football back to our once beloved
club... so when you think about this uniquely skilled player don't be so quick to shift all the blame on his shoulders because he will not be the first or the last highly skilled player to find disappointment at the Emirates if we don't rid the
club of those individuals that are truly to blame for our
current woes
He only has one more
left on his
current contract and his
club has decided to cash
in on him.
Drmic has so far managed to register an impressive 16 goals and three assists
in total
in his 29 top - flight outings for his
club,
leaving the striker
in second place
in the
current goalscoring charts
in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund executive Hans - Joachim Watzke said
in an interview with Kicker that the
club would discuss the situation with Mkhitaryan this week and assess the situation of their 27 - year - old winger, who has just one year
left on his
current deal.
As reported by Sky Sports, Alderweireld's
current contract contains a clause which states that should the Premier League runners - up trigger a year - long extension
in the Belgian's contract, the former Atletico Madrid man will be allowed to
leave for # 25M, which is a clause the
club want to eradicate from the player's contract.
Dybala has emerged as a surprise transfer target for the Gunners after
current club Palermo revealed he could
leave in January if their valuation of him was met.
Time for some brutal honesty... this team, as it stands, is
in no better position to compete next season than they were 12 months ago, minus the fact that some fans have been easily snowed by the acquisition of Lacazette, the free transfer LB and the release of Sanogo... if you look at the facts carefully you will see a team that still has far more questions than answers... to better show what I mean by this statement I will briefly discuss the
current state of affairs on a position - by - position basis...
in goal we have 4 potential candidates, but
in reality we have only 1 option with any real future and somehow he's the only one we have actively tried to get rid of for years because he and his father were a little too involved on social media and he got caught smoking (funny how people still defend Wiltshire under the same and far worse circumstances)... you would think we would want to keep any goaltender that Juventus had interest
in, as they seem to have a pretty good history when it comes to that position... as far as the defenders on our
current roster there are only a few individuals whom have the skill and / or youth worthy of our time and / or investment, as such we should get rid of anyone who doesn't meet those simple requirements, which means we should get rid of DeBouchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Mertz and loan out Chambers to see if last seasons foray with Middlesborough was an anomaly or a prediction of things to come... some fans have lamented wildly about the return of Mertz to the starting lineup due to his FA Cup performance but these sort of pie
in the sky meanderings are indicative of what's wrong with this
club and it's wishy - washy fan - base...
in addition to these moves the
club should aggressively pursue the acquisition of dominant and mobile CB to stabilize an all too fragile defensive group that has self - destructed on numerous occasions over the past 5 seasons... moving forward and building on our need to re-establish our once dominant presence throughout the middle of the park we need to target a CDM then do whatever it takes to get that player into the fold without any of the usual nickel and diming we have become famous for (this kind of ruthless haggling has cost us numerous special players and certainly can't help make the player
in question feel good about the way their future potential employer feels about them)...
in order for us to become dominant again we need to be strong up the middle again from Goalkeeper to CB to DM to ACM to striker, like we did
in our most glorious years before and during Wenger's reign... with this
in mind, if we want Ozil to be that dominant attacking midfielder we can't keep
leaving him exposed to constant ridicule about his lack of defensive prowess and provide him with the proper players
in the final third... he was never a good defensive player
in Real or with the German National squad and they certainly didn't suffer as a result of his presence on the pitch... as for the rest of the midfield the blame falls squarely
in the hands of Wenger and Gazidis, the fact that Ramsey, Ox, Sanchez and even Ozil were allowed to regularly start when none of the aforementioned had more than a year
left under contract is criminal for a
club of this size and financial might... the fact that we could find money for Walcott and Xhaka, who weren't even guaranteed starters, means that our whole business model needs a complete overhaul... for me it's time to get rid of some serious deadweight, even if it means selling them below what you believe their market value is just to simply right this ship and change the stagnant culture that currently exists... this means saying goodbye to Wiltshire, Elneny, Carzola, Walcott and Ramsey... everyone, minus Elneny, have spent just as much time on the training table as on the field of play, which would be manageable if they weren't so inconsistent from a performance standpoint (excluding Carzola, who is like the recent version of Rosicky — too bad, both will be deeply missed)...
in their places we need to bring
in some proven performers with no history of injuries... up front, although I do like the possibilities that a player like Lacazette presents, the fact that we had to wait so many years to acquire some true quality at the striker position falls once again squarely at the feet of Wenger... this issue highlights the ultimate scam being perpetrated by this
club since the arrival of Kroenke: pretend your a small market
club when it comes to making purchases but milk your fans like a big market
club when it comes to ticket prices and merchandising... I believe the reason why Wenger hasn't pursued someone of Henry's quality, minus a fairly inexpensive RVP, was that he knew that they would demand players of a similar ilk to be brought on board and that wasn't possible when the business model was that of a «selling»
club... does it really make sense that we could only make a cheeky bid for Suarez, or that we couldn't get Higuain over the line when he was being offered up for half the price he eventually went to Juve for, or that we've only paid any interest to strikers who were clearly not going to press their
current teams to let them go to Arsenal like Benzema or Cavani... just part of the facade that finally came crashing down when Sanchez finally called their bluff... the fact remains that no one wants to win more than Sanchez, including Wenger, and although I don't agree with everything that he has done off the field, I would much rather have Alexis front and center than a manager who has clearly bought into the Kroenke model
in large part due to the fact that his enormous ego suggests that only he could accomplish great things without breaking the bank... unfortunately that isn't possible anymore as the game has changed quite dramatically
in the last 15 years, which has
left a largely complacent and complicit Wenger on the outside looking
in... so don't blame those players who demanded more and were
left wanting... don't blame those fans who have tried desperately to raise awareness for several years when cracks began to appear... place the blame at the feet of those who were well aware all along of the potential pitfalls of just such a plan but continued to follow it even when it was no longer a financial necessity, like it ever really was...
If the Boss will make these 3 signings, I think he will have to close his eyes to allow 3 more Gunners from his
current 25 man team
leave the
club to make rooms for the 5 other ones to come -
in to his 25 man team.
Carl Jenkinson only
left Arsenal on loan
in the summer and as he is a boyhood fan of the Gunners, there is no doubt that he will be desperate to use his time at his
current Premier League
club West Ham to prove his worth and show Arsene Wenger that he really has got a future as an Arsenal player.
There are a growing number of Arsenal transfer rumours concerning the future of our Chile international star Alexis Sanchez, who along with the other big name Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is currently
in talks with the
club about an extension to their
current contracts which will have just one year
left to run at the end of this season.
It remains to be seen just how highly he does rate his
current stand -
in goalkeeper, and the question may well be answered should the
club allow Ospina to
leave, while not bringing another keeper
in.
The former Magpie wrote
in his column for local paper the Chronicle that he is certain that the midfielder will
leave his
current club and return to the Premier League
in January, after failing to force his way into the French champions» starting XI on a regular enough basis to guarantee him a place
in the France national team.
Le Prof still has two more seasons
left on his
current contract and very few Gooners would be surprised if he remained at the
club much longer than that, even though some would prefer him to
leave as soon as possible... There have been many ex-Arsenal legends that are candidates to become Arsenal's next boss, with Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Dennis Bergkamp and others already much further advanced
in their management training, but even those big names hardly know the
club better than Henry.
Having phoned
in to discuss his side's loss at Brighton on Sunday,
club legend Ian Wright was
left visibly upset himself as the fan conceded that he was «heartbroken'to see Arsenal
in their
current state.
I think it is high time that the Arsenal fans get off the back of Alexis Sanchez, even though the Chile international has probably still not changed his mind and will
leave our
club, whether it be for nothing at the end of the
current campaign or halfway through this season when the winter transfer window opens
in the new year.
Even though the Daily Mail report on the topic contains comments from Klaus Allofs, who is the sporting director of the German star's
current club Wolfsburg, dismissing the suggestion that he could be sold
in January, the player himself has restated his wish to
leave.