Author Archives: keenosafc

How bad was the transfer window for Arsenal?

6 Replies

So I decided to let the dust settle for a bit before writing a bit of a summary on the transfer window, in the hope that the anger within subsides and I can perhaps look at it another way. See if there is any silver lining. Try and write it less biased. And it did work a little bit.

2 players signed, 5 senior players sold, 16 players left the club in total. £46.5m spent. At least £63m bought in. A profit of £16.5m.

Pretty ropey figures when you consider we apparently had £100m to spend, and just 2 incoming players to a squad that finished 5th, 18 points behind the leaders. With 5 senior players gone and just two in, the squad is seemingly lighter than last season?

So what actually happened?

Wojciech Szczęsny left for Juventus. He was pretty much surplus to requirements and having spent 2 years on loan to Roma, did not really need replacing. However, I am disappointed we did not also let David Ospina go, and then sign a young goal keeper – such as Jordan Pickford – to compete with Petr Cech this season and replace him next Season. Emiliano Martinez went on loan to Getafe. I doubt it will be a chance to prove himself as Cech’s heir apparent.

Gabriel also went, which will not upset many. Whilst no replacement was signed, his departure has been offset by Calum Chambers returning from his loan deal. Whilst at one point this summer Arsenal were willing to accept bids for him, good performances for England in the U21 Euro’s – as well as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain leaving has given him a lifeline. Hopefully in the Europa League he proves he can build a solid partnership with Rob Holding

Kieran Gibbs went. Good luck to him. He needs to resurrect his career. He is 27 now and needs to have a good few years. He plays week in week out for WBA, he might even make the England squad. He has certainly been upgraded on with Sead Kolašinac coming in on a free transfer. Once he finally starts playing regularly at left back, you will realise the improvement both going forward and in defence on our left hand side.

Out on loan went Lucas Pérez. Some will say he never got his chance, but he was clearly surplus to requirements. Especially as the incoming Alexandre Lacazette for £46.m from Lyon dramatically improves our forward line. Lacazette coming in as number one striker pushed Perez down to 5th choice striker (Lacazette, Giroud, Welbeck, Sanchez), so he was always going to fall out the other end.

The last senior player to leave us was on transfer deadline day as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool. He was not replaced, but not many were upset to see him go. Ox had always flattered to deceive and the reality is, if we return to 4 at the back, he is 5th choice right back (behind Bellerin, Debuchy, Chambers & Mustafi) and 5th choice winger (Sanchez, Walcott, Welbeck, Iwobi). He only starts if we stick to 3 at the back.

Joel Campbell and Carl Jenkinson also went on loan. They will not be missed, nor will they need to be replaced.

The fact that the players who left have been replaced with better options (bar Oxlade-Chamberlain) is a positive. The starting XI and squad is undoubtedly better than last years with just the 2 signings and returning Chambers.

The problem is we did not improve in areas where players did not leave.

Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are still with the club. It would have been preferable if one dropped out, and we captured a first choice central midfielder such Jean-Michael Seri, who would have competed with Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka.

Likewise in defence, we could have improved on Koscielny, Mustafi, Holding, Mertesacker and Chambers. Had we got a senior, first choice centre back, one of the lower ones (or even Mustafi) could have been moved one.

And we failed with an extra attacking option. Thomas Lemar or Julian Draxler coming in would have been ideal, which in turn would have perhaps seen Theo Walcott move on.

I think the most disappointing thing of the window was we got some good business done early, but then everything else has fizzled out.

The club have tried to spin it that at least Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are still here when the reality is that they should be staying and we should have added more to them. Why did it have to be Lemar if Sanchez leaves, why not Lemar with Sanchez and Ozil.

All in all, it is like it is your birthday party. You get some nice presents from your mum and dad, but they never get you the pony.

Keenos
[twitter-follow screen_name=’KeenosAFC

https://twitter.com/SheWore/status/903168642329825280%5D

Liverpool and Spurs fans have no right to “banter” Arsenal

55 Replies

The start of this season, Arsenal fans have taken it from all sides. The club is in a crisis. We seem not to know where we are going. The futures not bright. We get it.

But I do have to laugh at fans of Spurs and Liverpool. They seem to have given it the most, yet maybe they need to get their ship in order first. 

So Liverpool beat us 4-0 and looked brilliant. Well done guys. But beating Arsenal doesn’t make up for a decade of failure. 

That’s right, in the last 10 years, Liverpool have won a single League Cup. 

I saw some Scousers (they probably weren’t Scouse. We all know they are worse than Man U for racing back to London) even say “I bet Alexis Sanchez regrets picking Arsenal over Liverpool now”. 

Let’s look at the facts; In 3 years at Arsenal, Sanchez has won 2 FA Cups. In those 3 years, Liverpool have won nothing. 

4 8 6 2 7 8 6 7

Not last nights lottery numbers, but Liverpools last 8 league finishes.

It has been a decade of underachievement for them. Of course, the papers won’t want to report the truth for fear of boycotts. But Liverpool are a club who are in the middle of a decade long crisis. 

Their last trophy was in 2012 – the League Cup. There last FA Cup in 2006. And you have to go back to 1990 for their last league title. Most of their fans were still in Bangladesh in 1990, having not yet travelled to the UK to work in a Brick Lane curry house. 

So yes, you beat us 4-0, but ultimately what will you have to show for it at the end of the season? You will probably celebrate the 4th place trophy like you did last season. 

As for Spurs, they are a joke of a club. 

Arsenal’s poor start to the season has actually masked Spurs failings. 

Their players want out, they haven’t won at home, 1 win in 3 and couldn’t beat Burnley. They are only actually 1 point better off than Arsenal, and have had the home advantage in the opening games of the season. 

And if Arsenal have had a disaster of a transfer market, how about them?

They have literally bought a centre back called Sanchez in the hope of driving advertising revenue to their site – with idiots thinking it was Alexis. 

This is a bloke who joined Ajax for about £4.5m last summer, and is now suddenly worth £45m+. 

Then they are chasing Serge Aurier. By now he might have got a work permit for the UK. Remember this was the player who couldn’t get a permit to play against Arsenal in England due to being handed a 2 month prison sentence for assaulting a police office. 

Aurier has a long list of offences against him, from assault to homophobic abuse, to abusing people on social media. He was suspended by PSG in 2016 and once spent a summer begging Arsenal to sign him (since writing this they signed him). 

Add in a Swansea striker on loan. Well done guys. 

Spurs finished above Arsenal last season. Well done lads. You won a trophy for putting the pressure on Chelsea. Good job. 

But ultimately it was another season without a trophy. My maths is bad, but I make that 1 League Cup in 18 years? That’s even worse than Liverpool. 

Spurs fans claim players would be more attracted to their club over Arsenal if a players “wants to win things”. You have a laugh?

No FA Cup in 26 years. No league title in 56 years. Finished above Arsenal once in 22 years. 

Spurs are not a big club. Not an attractive club. They can only dream of signing the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. 

Next season they are going to be in a similar position as Arsenal as top players – the likes of Hugo Lloris and Toby Alderweild – enter the last year of the contract. Why will they hang around, winning nothing and getting underpaid for the privilege. 

The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Cristian Erickson are not Spurs fans. They are not “one of their own”. They are players who play for the coin. To win things. They will all be gone next season. 

As for that great manager you have, his nickname in the game is Won Nothing. 

I feel embarrassed by Spurs fans the way they have celebrated Arsenal’s start to the season. I guess when you have no success at your own club, you have to celebrate another clubs failures. 

Up next for Spurs is an away trip to Everton. Arsenal host Bournemouth.

It is not inconceivable that 4 games in, crisis club Arsenal will be above progressively brilliant Spurs. 

Concentrate on your own crisis lads. 

It is not good enough at Arsenal at the moment. We do need to look at ourselves. Our failings. But we as fans are more than capable doing that ourselves. Fans of clubs who are failing even bigger, in decade long trophy droughts, are in no position to laugh. 

Up the Arsenal

Keenos 

How is Theo Walcott not in the England squad?

5 Replies

England play tonight and I for one am baffled as to why Theo Walcott does not get into the squad.

Now before you all jump on the comments and say “he is sh*t”, put your dummy back in and be sensible.

Yes, he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, he might not be the most naturally gifted when it comes to dribbling or vision, but he gets goals and assists, something which a lot of the current squad struggle with.

Look at stats from last season:

It baffles me that England think they are so good that they have left at home a player who outscored all but 2 of the current squad last season, with the second best games to goals ratio.

Keenos