Tag Archives: Arsène Wenger

Ivan Gazidis – “Who you buy, not how much you spend”

Before I start, let me get a disclaimer out there.

Arsenal need to spend some money, Arsene Wenger needs to buy some players, Ivan Gazidis needs to push Arsene Wenger to ensure Arsenal but the best players to enable us to put up the best challenge we can for the league title.

Now I have got that out the way, time to say a couple of things that might wind a few of you up, will probably need to accusations of me flip-flopping, and will certainly get me a bit of abuse from the trolls.

Both Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger’s recent comments are bang on the money.

Gazidis told ESPN “it’s not just about spending money but about how you spend your money and doing it wisely”, whilst Wenger followed this up with “if we find the right candidates, we will spend the big money.”

Now when most people read these quotes, they sighed in disbelief. In an era with new TV deals and giant match day revenue, Arsenal’s management team are once more talking about not spending money, and only on the right candidates.

It is Arsene Wengers “nobody better available” from last year all over again (although I am actually struggling to find him being quoted as ever saying this?)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and interpretation of the quotes, but nine is that both are correct in what they say.

Personally, it has never been what you spend, but how you spend it.

Don’t believe me? Look at last season. Two of the stand out players were N’Golo Kante & Dimitri Payet. Only an idiot would not have put either in their team of the year, and both were named in the PFA team of the year.

But they cost around £16million between them (Kante – £5m, Payet £11m – both approx).

Meanwhile, Manchester United spent nearly £50m on Memphis Depay (£25m) & Morgan Schneiderlin (£24m). Manchester City spent £44m on Raheem Sterling & £55m on Kevin De Bruyne – both outperformed by Payet.

Liverpool £29m on Roberto Firminho. Tottenham £22m on Son Heung-min. Payet was superior to these too.

And N’Golo Kante was easily the best defensive midfielder in the league.

Looking back at the 2015/16 PFA team of the year, it cost approximately £54m. That is less that what Manchester City spent on Kevin de Bruyne, or less than what Manchester United could end up paying for Anthony Martial.

Another great example of it not being what you spend is Manchester City.

They have spent well over £100m in recent years on centre backs. And yet the best two that they have signed in recent years were Vincent Kompany (£6m) and Jerome Boateng (£11m). Last summer, they signed Nicolas Otamendi for £31m. Spurs meanwhile signed Toby Alderweireld for just £11m. City spent £40m on Eliaquim Mangala. Arsenal spent £11m on Laurent Koscielny.

City are a perfect example of a side who seem to care more about the price tag of a player rather than his actually ability.

This summer, Borussia Dortmund have spent around £90m. Liverpool just shy of £80m. But the difference in quality is stark:

Dortmund:
Mikel Merino
Ousmane Dembélé
Sebastian Rode
Emre Mor
Raphaël Guerreiro
Mario Götze
André Schürrle

Liverpool:
Joël Matip
Loris Karius
Sadio Mané
Ragnar Klavan
Alex Manninger
Georginio Wijnaldum

If players of the quality of Gonzalo Higuain, Julian Draxler, Riyad Mahrez or Romelu Lukaku are available, but will cost big money, go and buy them. They are the right players. We have shown this with Granit Xhaka. The right player.

Chelsea won the league in 2013/14. They identified two key positions where they needed to make strong signings. Central midfield and upfront. They went and spent £60m on Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas. They were the right players for Chelsea to bring in.

But likewise, if we find the next Riyad Mahrez, the next N’Golo Kante (before we secured Xhaka), the next Dimitri Payet, someone who would improve the team but cost little, we should go for them too, even if it annoys fans that we are buying “another unknown from France.”

Everton signed John Stones for £3m. He is now being speculated at going to Man City or Chelsea for upwards of £40m. Who is to say Rob Holding is not that good?

“Now it is about how well you can identify and develop talent, how strong your club philosophy is, how together you are as a club and what your support services are like in the medical, fitness, analytics and psychology fields.”

That is the most important aspect of what Gazidis told ESPN. It is not all about spending £50m on a player. It is about buying in the right player, and ensuring that the support (coaching?) within the club ensures that the talent fulfils its potential.

Of course, I am not advocating not spending. In my eyes, Arsenal still need a strong centre back to compete with Per Mertesacker, an attacking right winger to displace Theo Walcott. And a striker to offer something different to Olivier Giroud. But I want us to get in the right players, no matter their cost, not just buy a player because he costs a lot.

I do not care what a player costs, as long as he is the right player for the team.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Are you prepared for Wexit?

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This is surely Arsene Wenger’s last season at Arsenal. His contract is due to come to an end. It will be time for him to retire in the sun.

Like many, I feel he should have already gone. His time was up a couple of years ago, but he has held on – unlike many, however, I will not blame everything that is wrong with the world on Wenger.

So it is coming to an end. 20 years of one man being in charge of Arsenal. And the question we need to ask ourselves is, are us, as fans, prepared for Wenger’s exit? Or Wexit as I am labelling it.

Over the last 5-10 years, a lot of fans have defined themselves not as Arsenal fans, but as how they sit on Arsene Wenger’s employment at Arsenal. For a while, it seemed you could not simply just be “Arsenal”, but you had to also be “Wenger In” or “Wenger Out”.

It went as far as people creating Acronyms for both sides. WOB & AKB.

At the same time, we saw the rise of social media. Twitter and Facebook. And people created an online persona, based on whether they were Wenger In or Out. They have gained followers, notoriety, maybe even disciples, based solely on their opinion of the manager.

Their followers have given them a false sense of security. A false sense of status. It has made losers prophets. Thinking that they are preaching to their disciples, above all those around them.

We have seen Wenger In groups pop up on Facebook, where they act like everything is rosy. Wenger Out Whatasapp groups where people link in a comment made on social media backing Wenger, a call to attack, so to speak.

There have been fights online, punches thrown in stadiums, and banners, a hell of a lot of money spent on banners.

People have basically defined themselves over nearly a decade based on who they see the status of a single man.

And how will these people react when Arsene Wenger leaves?

How will they go on to get their heroin-like attention? Will they move on to pretend to be in-the-know? Will they massively support / abuse the new manager? How will these people define themselves post Wenger? Will they return to just being amongst equals, a normal Arsenal fan, or will they keep preaching like a prophet?

We have a year of transition. You will see some who are smarter changing their online persona. Becoming less argumentative. Trying to look more informative. In the hope by the time Wenger leaves, they have returned to just being a normal fan, who go’s for the enjoyment of football. Maybe move on to other causes, like ticket prices, safe standing, etc.

Of course, you will have the attention seeking idiots who will just not be able to let go. Despite them becoming less and less relevant, they will continue to spout their bile, their abuse, at anyone that disagrees. Each time getting less Retweets, fewer likes. Eventually they will realise they have become irrelevant and probably jump off a bridge.

After living your life for a decade so aggressively based on one man, how will they cope when that man is no longer in their life?

Personally, I have always been just Arsenal. Next season, when Wenger is no longer here, nothing will change for me.

I will still write crap blogs, still argue on Twitter, still go to every game, home and away, and still spend way to much money on beer before, during, and after games.

Are you prepared for Wexit?

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Are Arsenal Fans Playing Pokemon Go?

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Gotta catch em all.

Yesterday, when all the fuss was happening over Thierry Henry turning down a full time coaching position at Arsenal, one comment really hit a cord with me.

We have had so many top players play for us over the decades. So many fans favourites. So many legends. And it seems that every fan expects every top former player to get a coaching job at the club.

That is just not realistic. It is like fantasy coaching.

What I picture now is fans travelling around the world, seeking out former Arsenal players in a coaching position (or acting as a pundit on TV), and attempting to capture them, bring them back to London Colney, and force them into a coaching job at the club.

It is like an Arsenal version of Pokeman Go.

We have Thierry Henry over at the Sky Sports studios in Isleworth.

Up in Salford, Martin Keown can be found in the Match of the Day studio. Somewhere in London, Lee Dixon can be captured working at ITV Sport. David Seaman was last seen at Lea Valley ice rink, practising his twirls

Go south of the river (don’t get a black cab, they don’t go that way), Ray Parlour is to be found at TalkSport Towers. For Ian Wright, you have to go to Kings Cross, Platform 9 and ¾ and get a train to Hogwarts.

And then Arsenal Go turns international.

Go to Amsterdam under the guise of coaching an Arsenal legend (we all know why you are really going their). Dennis Bergkamp is to be found. You can capture Marc Overmars too.

Down in Azerbaijan, Tony Adams can be found. Although he might not be there longer. Then get a flight to Brazil.

In Brazil you will find Edu, and if you are lucky, Gilberto might be in town as well.

A trip to New York will enable you to capture the rarest of them all. Patrick Vieira.

And then it is a return to London. Will all your Arsenal Pokeman captured, to release them all onto the Arsenal training ground.

You have captured them all.

Of course, it does not matter that there are not enough jobs to go around. It does not matter that you have to sack proven, quality coaches to make space for unproven, unqualified, ex-players. None of that matters. What is important is that they all have jobs. Every single one of them. Anyone who wants a job gets one. And those that do not, as they would rather be working in their home country for their boyhood club, they can be chained to the centre circle. A chain long enough to get around the training ground. But not leave. Like a dog in your back yard.

It is silly isn’t it?

In the past, the likes of Geordie Armstrong, Pat Rice, Bob Wilson & Liam Brady have coached at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.

Currently the likes of Steve Bould (assistant manager) & Freddie Ljungberg (U15 / U16) are at the club. Robert Pires also has a role. There are others too that did not have a stellar career.

Arsenal academy graduate Ryan Garry retired at 27. He is the clubs U13 coach. Greg Lincoln, another ex academy player, is also at the club.

Add in the likes of Giles Grimandi & Danny Karbassiyoon currently have scouting roles at the club. Steve Morrow is the head of scouting.

Steve Gatting has been at the club for what seems forever. People do not realise he is also an ex-player.

Kwame Ampadu has a 3 year stint at the club. He would have been Theirry Henry’s boss. Tony Adams has now taken up that position as his number 2.

So there are plenty of Arsenal people around the club. Some are ex-players of a legendary status, others players who’s career did not reach them heights.

But it is important we get the best coaches.

Look at Jose Mourinho. He is one of the top coaches in the game right now. He did not have any sort of professional career. Arsene Wenger did not exactly do much either. Within the club you have a man like Neil Banfield – who has been at the club for 20 years, Vic Akers (31 years), Steve Leonard (23 years) & Tony Colbert (18 years). Between them they have nearly 100 years of service to Arsenal.

Should we get rid of these stalwarts of the club. Proper Arsenal man, to make space for someone like Marc Overmars, who was at the club for 3 years, or Patrick Vieira, who spent 3 years trying to force a move away from Arsenal?

We demand the best players at the club, we should also demand the best coaches. We should not be handing out jobs to coaches who are not the best, just because they used to play for us.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC