Tag Archives: Arsenal

A lot has happened in a week at The Arsenal

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A lot has happened in the week I have been off.

Firstly we had Laurent Koscielny going William Gallas on us.

I always liked Koscielny. He seemed to hold himself well and was a good role model, a good captain. He seemed to understand what it means to play for The Arsenal. That is why it came as a shock when he refused to fly out to America on the pre-season tour.

With Arsenal chasing central defenders this summer, it was felt that it was important to keep hold of Koscielny for one more season.

With William Saliba set to sign and be loaned straight back to St Etienne, a second senior central defender would likely be purchased, with Shkodran Mustafi making way. Koscielny would then be kept as experience cover to the new signing, Sokratis and Rob Holding; with Saliba joining Arsenal in a year to replace his senior compatriot.

Koscielny’s actions were disappointing and will have ramifications to Arsenal’s transfer targets this summer.

It is likely that we will now lose the Frenchman and that will result in Mustafi remaining. That will mean less funds raised to buy a top central defender and could see us scrap those plans and going into the new season with Mustafi, Holding and Sokratis as our central defensive options.

Koscielny has tarnished his Arsenal legacy.

We then have the “will they won’t they” signings of Saliba and Kieran Tierney.

Both deals were reportedly very close not to long ago, but both have stalled.

Tottenham have reportedly come in for Saliba, despite a deal being agreed with Arsenal and “in the hands of the lawyers” according to David Ornstein. According to top soccer betting sites, Arsenal are still favourites for the deal

On Ornstein; he is not longer as reliable as he once was with his source within the club having left (reportedly Ivan himself). Recently he has taken to reporting what others like Sky’s Kaveh Solhekol has already broke. Take what he says these days with the same pinch of salt you would others.

Tierney deal is dragging along. Arsenal had a second bid rejected due to the structure of the deal.

Arsenal have a right to be cautious, with the Scotsman still recovering from a double hernia. £25million upfront would secure the man, but he would be unable to pass a medical. It would be a risk, which is why Arsenal are trying to do a deal where Celtic will get their £25million based on appearances.

I still think Arsenal will get the deal over the line.

You then had the fake bid for Nicolas Pepe.

Arsenal reportedly bid £72million for the Ivorian, an offer which was quickly debunked by many. Whilst I have no doubt Arsenal did not make an offer for the Lille winger, he should certainly be on our radar.

Younger and better than Wilfried Zaha, I would rather Arsenal spent £60million on Pepe than his national team mate.

Yesterday we had the launch of the #WeCareDoYou campaign by many prominent Arsenal groups.

The strongly written letter to Stan Kroenke got the attention it deserved and was picked up by every major media outlet.

With nearly 100,000 Arsenal fans backing the letter, it carries a clear and conscience undertone. We are not happy.

I have a few on Kroenke which anyone that follows me on Twitter will know. The letter is not asking him to pump billions in, nor is it spreading any fake news about him taking money out. It is calling on him to show that he cares, and lead Arsenal back on the right track.

Our identity as a club has ebbed away over the last few years. Some of it due to Kroenke’s leadership, other due to the previous custodians. Much to do with how Ivan Gazidis ran the club.

You can probably track Arsenal’s identity demise back to 2002 when Arsenal changed the badge of marketing and copywrite reasons. Since then the club has been a mess.

Now not everything that has gone wrong is Kroenke’s fault, but as sole owner of Arsenal he now has the final say in where the club is going. And the club needs to get back on course.

It will take a while, you do not turn a cruise liner on a six pence. But the letter is the start, and hopefully Kroenke (and perhaps more importantly Raul Sanllehi) does listen, does take things into account, and does show that he cares.

Finally Arsenal played last night, beating Colorado Rapids 3-0 with Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and James Olayinka getting on the score sheet.

I am not going to pretend to have watched the game, but there is a good write up on Jorge Bird’s Arsenal Youth Blog.

Arsenal’s 1st senior pre-season contained a youthful looking line up. Hopefully with another year in the Europa League we will see many of those players develop.

On Thursday Arsenal face Bayern Munich.

Keenos

Suffering from transfer fatigue

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I am tired of it all.

Tired of the 24/7 news, tired of Sky Sport’s News “Transfer Centre”, tired Twitter ITKs, tired of the media fabricating speculation. I am tired of attention seekers moaning that we have not signed anyone yet, tired of people running around Islington with a tired megaphone. Tired of people complaining just to build a profile. I am tired of it all.

I have transfer fatigue.

Each morning I try and write a blog. I love writing. It is a release for me. Something to relax the mind. Even if my spelling is horrendous, I hope that over the years I have contributed to the Arsenal discussion.

I do not blog for money. The site has raised a few thousand through advertising in the 5 years, the majority of which has been donated to charity – we have raised over £3,000. I try and stay away from writing click bait articles. I try and discuss how a player would improve us, other possibilities, and tactical analysis’s. I try and write up my experience going to games home and away. But this summer has been tough.

It has been tough to motivate myself to write something, and that is due to the lack of subject matter. It happens every summer. At least I can console myself with a playmgm bonus code.

Once you decide to try not to comment on transfer speculation, there is very little to talk about. I have searched Arsenal daily to try and find something that is worthwhile discussing further. The truth is there is not. Just 100s of articles a day linking us to hundreds of different players. It is getting boring.

With work getting manic, it is perhaps time to put the blog on a short hiatus. To have a break. It might be a day, it might be a week, it might be a month.

Our 1st pre-season game is in exactly a weeks time – Colorado Rapids away.

If nothing relevant in The Arsenal world happens, that will be the next time you hear from me.

Time to rest the brain.

Keenos

Arsenal right to negotiate in crazy transfer market

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Why do Arsenal always negotiate? Why do they not pay the asking price?

That is what Arsenal fans have cried in recent weeks as we negotiate deals for Kieran Tierney and Wilfried Zaha.

It shows the media bias against Arsenal that they make such a big deal out of Arsenal negotiating the price. They make it appear that we are the only club to do so.

This week we have seen Juventus make an initial offer of £58.3million for Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt. Juventus’ proposed offer includes £49.3m paid up front, with £9m in add-ons.

We then have Manchester United reportedly offering £70million for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire. Leicester want £90million.

Finally a deal that actually went through. Tottenham signed Tanguy Ndombele for an initial £56.5m but fee could still rise to £65m. Lyon were reportedly holding out for £72million paid upfront.

Negotiating is part of business. Part of every day life. Whether it is a transfer fee, players wages, a hour, car or building materials. Everyone negotiates. And if you go and buy a car or a house without negotiating, well more full you.

Yet it is only Arsenal that get criticised for negotiated.

Some might say that Arsenal’s problem is they always go in too low, and “incense” the selling club. But the reality is Arsenal will value a player at a certain price, and will begin negotiations at a lower price.

Take the Wilfried Zaha deal.

Arsenal’s 1st offer is £40million. Crystal Palace are reportedly demanding £100million. The clubs are a long way apart. What would be a “fair” price for Zaha?

Last season Manchester City signed Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City.

How does Mahrez’s stats for the 2 Premier League seasons prior to him joining Manchester City in 2018 compare to Zaha’s last 2 seasons?

Mahrez obviously had a very good 2015/16 season that is not included in the above. Man City also have history of over paying for players to secure them. They can afford to do that with their bottomless pit of money.

On the assists, it has to be remembered that Mahrez was a set piece taker. He also took penalties. Zaha does neither.

I think it is safe to say that £60million is probably a reasonable price for Zaha based on what Manchester City paid for Mahrez.

Some will now argue “If Zaha is valued at £60million, why do we not just pay £60million”. That is because Palace want £100m.

Starting at £60million leaves you with no where to go.

Picture the scenario. You are buying a house that is on the market for £500,000. You think you can get it for £480,000. £480,000 is not your first offer. You would probably go in at £450,000. 10% less. This gives you negotiating room.

If you go straight in at £580,000, it means when you negotiate, you can only negotiate above what you believe to be what you value them out.

Back to Arsenal. By offering £40million, it then gives them the space to do a deal up towards £60million. If Arsenal started at £60million, Palace would still demand £100million and Arsenal would have to negotiate up from there.

When you look at the prices being quoted, especially by mid-table clubs, you understand why teams are negotiating hard.

Leicester City reportedly want £90million for Harry Maguire
In turn they have reportedly been quoted £40million for Burnley’s James Tarkowski
They also reportedly have a cheaper option of going for Lewis Dunk for £30million

Now imagine a scenario where you have bought both Tarkowski and Dunk at their clubs “asking price”. £70million spent on a mid-table defence.

And that is why teams negotiate.

Keenos