Author Archives: keenosafc

Arsenal and Adidas, Welbeck and Iwobi, Laughing and Harry Kane

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Arsenal and Adidas

As revealed on this site in March, Arsenal are in talks for a double your money deal with Adidas.

I have seen values ranging from £40m up to 60m floating about. My theory is that it will probably be in the middle of these – about £50m.

This might seem “low” in comparison to the £75m Manchester United deal, and the £60m Chelsea deal, but these are both long terms (Man U was 10 years, Chelsea 15 years).

As we saw with a 15 year deal with Emirates, the football world moves quickly

When in 2006, our deal with Emirates started, it was market leading. A 15-year deal estimated at £100 million to sponsor the stadium, combined with a 7-year shirt sponsorship. It was quickly outdated.

My bet is that Arsenal will go for less money per season from Adidas, but a short deal, likely 5-years.

This means we will be in a position to renegotiate the deal in 2024. Who knows what the footballing landscape will look like then. Meanwhile, Chelsea will still have another 9 years to go on their deal.

I also would not be to surprised if Puma come in with a late offer like they did the last time. They do not want to be left with no top English team wearing their shirts.

Welbeck and Iwobi

The pair are often labelled as not good enough ,and get a lot of justified criticism from fans. But against Southampton both performed well.

2 goals and an assist for Welbeck, 2 assists for Iwobi.

Are either of them ever going to be good enough to be regular starters? Probably not.

But football is a squad game, and unlike Manchester City or Manchester United, we do not have the finances to dramatically increase our wage bill.

Arsenal spend about £200m a year on wages, Manchester United nearer £300m.

That means the likes of Iwobi and Welbeck are important squad players. And if they put in performances like they did against Southampton more regularly, they can then be relied upon a bit more.

Laughing and Harry Kane

Spurs. The gift that keeps on giving.

So desperate are they for any sort of success, they have appealed a goal scored at the weekend. This is not an goal that was put down as an Own Goal that they are claiming, but a goal scored by another Tottenham player.

Cristian Erickson scored a free kick, and Harry Kane “swore on his daughter’s life” that it brushed his shoulder.

Firstly, Harry Kane shows he has a mental age of 12. Swearing on someone’s life is something that most of us stopped doing in secondary school.

Kane is 5 goals behind Mo Salah in the race for the golden boot. He knows that in his Tottenham career to date, he has won nothing but individual trophies. He knows the reality is playing for Spurs that he will not win any sort of team honours.

I will always remember Thierry Henry’s comments about the Ballon D’or (or lack of). His opinion stuck with me. That individual honours are not important, that it is what you win with your team that defines you as a player.

This showed through in Henry’s play. He was just as happy getting an assist as he was scoring goals. I have not seen as complete a striker as him. 30 goals a season, 20 assists a season.

Spurs appealing a goal scored by one of their own players just reeks of desperation.

3 golden boots in a row, 100 Premier League goals, and whatever else Kane might win as an individual will ultimately mean nothing if he ends up with less trophies for Spurs than Yaya Sanogo for Arsenal.

Try winning something properly, Harry, rather than whinge and moan until you get given a trophy to shut you up.

Keenos

The Arsenal and Me – Christopher Warner’s Story

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This Summer will mark my 40th anniversary as a Gooner. In that time, I’ve experienced the highs (9 F.A. Cups, 5 League Titles, The Invincibles) and the lows (Piers Morgan giving Trump a personalized jersey). But first, allow me to provide a little backstory. My allegiance began when I was 12 years old during a family vacation to London. There, I bought a pack of trading cards, including one of Pat Jennings — a memento I still cherish like a treasured heirloom. As an American, I had no idea who Jennings or Arsenal was — nor really anything at all about this brand of ‘football’ played without pads, helmets or cheerleaders. But I liked the fierce Arsenal logo and was told they were a top team with a cool-sounding nickname — and that was enough for me! Amusingly, I later learned Pat Jennings actually used to play for another North London team with a ridiculous crest featuring a frail, skinny chicken.

Eventually, I immersed myself in all things Arsenal and the club’s esteemed history, honors and achievements. The legendary names of Chapman, Graham, the “famous Back Four”, and the incomparable Thierry Henry all became part of my Highbury vernacular. I familiarized myself with the songs and traditions, and took immense pride that even punk god, Johnny Lydon bled Gooner blood, too. I soon began collecting Arsenal-themed memorabilia, including rare, vintage tobacco cards and a coveted signed photo of the “hatchet man,” Peter Storey. Books such as Nick Honby’s classic, Fever Pitch, as well as player biographies and football histories have gradually filled my shelves. And for the record, it never fails to move me when I think of the players who lost their lives in world wars, including goalkeeper Bill Dean, who famously declared,  “at least I can say I played for Arsenal.”

Well, dear friends, flash forward to 2018 and a chaotic world that becomes seemingly darker with each passing day as Russian villains plot WWIII, a village idiot sits in the White House and Arsenal suffers through another disappointing season. However, as a truly great leader once said, “Never, never, never GIVE UP!” Indeed.

Lastly, although it appears certain we’ll finish no better than 5th this year, the Europa Cup is now tantalizingly within reach, and Aaron Ramsey (“the Welsh Messi”) continues to dazzle with tricks and heel flicks that would make Merlin envious. So fear not, fellow Gooners, history is on our side and we’ll inevitably cheer loudest once again.

Christopher Warner

www.imdb.me/christopherwarner

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here

 https://twitter.com/SheWore/status/981498195267260417

Arsenal on the verge of greatness?

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We have had a tough season. We are battered, bruised and beaten. But last nice comfortable victory shows we have the makings of a top, top team.

It might not quite be good enough to match Manchester City, but they are a team which cost a billion quid, containing the majority of the “most expensive footballers” in their position to ever play in England. They have failed to win just 4 games this season. About to set records that they might even struggle to match in the future. But back to Arsenal.

As said, we have the makings of a good team.

In Hector Bellerin, we have one of the best right backs in European football.

Our friends over at Gunners Town asked this week “if Bellerin left, who would replace him?” and many struggled to answer.

In the Premier League, only Kyle Walker is on the same level. And I struggle to name a better full back in their early 20s throughout Europe. And he is still just 23, people seem to forget that.

Backing him up next season will be Ainsley Maitland-Niles. He has shown this season that he is a player, more than capable deputising for Bellerin if needed.

The left back is also tied up. Nacho Monreal is Mr Consistent and Sead Kolasinac will look to build on a rollercoaster first season.

Between the full backs, I still believe there is a good centre back in Shkdoran Mustafi. I think if you get a strong character next to him, a reliable leader of the defence, he will flourish. Sadly Laurent Koscielny’s game these days is filled with injury and mistakes. Get in that top CB and we have a very good back 4.

Alongside Koscielny are Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and the Greek lad.

It could be a male or break summer for the two English lads. Neither have really kicked on due to lack of game time, but both would make an adequate 4th choice CB.

One problem area is in goal.

David de Gea has shown this year how important a match winning goal keeper can be. He does not make mistakes that lose games, and makes plenty of match saving stops.

Both David Ospina and Petr Czech have the same problems. Neither is a match winner, and both have mistakes in them. One of them will be an able deputy to a new top stopper, but it is an area of the pitch that we have fallen behind on.

I am excited about our midfield.

In recent weeks we have gone to a solid midfield 3. I felt it would be our best formation once Alexis Sanchez left.

Jack Wilshere fell deep provides protection and can dictate play, meaning that Mesut Ozil does not need to drop. On the other side is Aaron Ramsey. A midfield 3 means that he has the freedom to roam, to get forward, to score goals. He truly is a brilliant player when he is able to drive forward.

Recently Granit Xhaka has been playing in between them. Like many, I am not sold on him. He is a bit of a liability – as shown with his yellow yesterday. Get in a proper defensive midfielder and it frees up Wilshere and Ramsey to do what they do best.

I wouldn’t get rid of Xhaka, however. We need a deep squad, and Xhaka will be able to cover the new defensive midfielder, as well as Jack Wilshere. Add Mo Elneny and you would have 5 (depending on buying thee DM) versatile midfielders who could be rotated and replaced depending on the opponents.

Mesut Ozil, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emrick Aubemayang. The golden triangle.

Add in Alexandre Lacazette, who I mentioned might not fit in next season, and Arsenal have an enviable array of attacking talent.

If we can improve on Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi as our wide options, then the squad will be filled with quality.

People ask “why would a top manager want to come to Arsenal”. Well to work with the likes of Bellerin, Monreal, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Aubemayang. A core of 7 top players that the rest of the team needs to be built around.

Now we just need the manager who will get the best out of them.

Keenos