Tag Archives: Julian Draxler

How Arsenal can spend the £100 million

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The key news coming out of the Arsenal Supporters Trust March meeting was the common consensus of both the AST, financial experts, and Telegraph Journalist Jeremy Wilson was that Arsenal were going to have a transfer budget of around £100 million this summer.

With this £100 million covering transfer fee’s, wages & agent fees, it is not simply a case of us being able to go out and make 2 Mesut Ozil type transfers. Everything must be considered. So how best would I spend the £100 million?

Julian Draxler

I love this guy. I first spoke about his potential way back in October add my opinion on him has not changed. Arsenal (and Ozil’s) troubles this season has come from lack of runners. With Theo Walcott being are only main pace threat on a regular basis. With a reported £37 million release clause, he would be our big summer signing. We would likely double his £50,000 per week wages he is currently on with Schalke, giving him a 5 year, £100,000 a week deal. By the time you add in bonuses and signing on fee, you would be looking at him costing, in his 1st year, around £45 million. Imagine him on the left, Walcott on the right, suddenly Ozil would be spoilt for choice!

Total cost: £45,000,000

Loic Remy

With the big money going on Julian Draxler, I am of the belief that we buy a ‘lesser’ striker. The fact is, there is a dearth of top strikers currently available in European football. When I say the figure of £35 million banded about for Diego Costa, or £25 million for Mandžukić, it signify’s that when it come’s to strikers, it is a sellers market.

Diego Costa has had one good season – he had never scored more than 10 league goals this season. As for Mandžukić, we would be buying an Olivier Giroud clone. The same age, similar playing style It would not improve us.

Whilst Loic Remy might not be the big name many Arsenal fan’s crave, he actually represents good value and would be the right signing. 19 Premier League in 37 games playing for QPR and Newcastle shows he is Premier League quality. Had he scored them over a season, rather than January to January, he would be one of the top Premier League top goal scorers. As it is, this season he is 4th on the list, 1 ahead of Giroud, 2 ahead of Rooney and Van Persie, and 3 ahead of Lukaku. When you consider the personal problems he has had this season, that is a very good return.

His style of play would also suit Arsenal. With his pace and directness, he would provide us with a different option to Giroud and they would compliment each other well over a league campaign. Currently valued on tranfermarkt at £10.5 million, he would provide a lot better value than Costa or Mandžukić. Currently on £75,000 a week, which is more than Giroud, we would probably offer him similar to that, so as to not upset the apple cart, but supplement it with a large signing on fee to boast his wages

Total cost: £18,00,000

Matthias Ginter

Another player I have been a fan of for a while. Matthias Ginter should be a target not matter what happens with Thomas Vermaelen. At 20 years old, he has the potential to become a top player for years to come. Whilst it would be too soon for him to pub pressure on either Mertesacker or Koscielny, give it 12 months and he could easily be pushing both of them for a 1st team spot.

He also provides a second advantage in that he has played defensive midfield on an occasion for Freiburg. Whilst defensive midfield requires a long term solution, Ginter could provide Flamini and Arteta with short term cover. Big money needs to be spent here, but there probably is not enough in the pot this summer to solve the problem completely. He is likely to cost around £10,000,000 plus wages.

Total cost: £13,000,000

Bacary Sagna

Why is a player already at the club on this list? I hear you ask…Simple. He wants a £6 million signing on fee to remain at the club. Whilst some might feel he is being greedy, it is what he would get if he were to go to Galatasaray, Monaco or PSG. It is his going rate. We should just pay it, secure his services for the next 3 years, and know we have got a top right back who also covers at centre back,

Were we to let Sagna go on a free transfer, it would cost the club a lot more than £6 million in replacing him at right back. We would then need to buy a second player to be 4th choice centre back. £6 million for a player of his experience, ability and versatility is a relative snip. Arsene Wenger should view it as a ‘new transfer’ and use part of the £100 million to finance the deal.

Another 3 years of Sagna will give the club enough time to judge whether either Jenkinson or Bellerin are good enough to be long term replacements, against, savind us a lot of money.

Total cost: £6,000,000

A new goal keeper

Fabianski is likely to leave us at the end of the season. His performances in the FA Cup prove that he is good enough to be a 1st choice Premier League goal keeper next year. Unfortunately we can not offer him that. With it being highly unlikely that Viviano will remain at the club, the scouting network will need to find a goal keeper who is a) good enough for Arsenal and b) happy to sit on the bench. Not an easy task. It is likely we will pluck a goal keeper out of some foreign league who we have never heard of. To go a bit Football Manger here, I would look at Alphonse Areola, currently on loan at Ligue 2 RC Lens, it is unlikely he will ever break into the PSG first team, so would be gettable. This is just a single name off the top of my head though. I would be disappointed if we spent any more than a total of £5,000,000 on transfer fee and wages.

Total cost: £5,000,000

Agent Fee’s

The scum of football. Money paid by clubs to agents to assist in securing a player. It is basically money being taken out of the game by greedy men who often tie young players from poor back ground into long term deals which ensures they make millions from moving the player around Europe like a commodity. It is an unfortunate cost in football. Arsenal have averaged between £5-6 million on agents fee’s each year for the last 3 years. It is unlikely this will change too much.

Total cost: £6,000,000

Total Summer Spend: £93,000,000

Keenos

Arsenal – You’re a Disgrace

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This morning there are a lot of angry Arsenal fans waking up. And they have every right to be furious with the club. The recently unjustified 3% ticket rise is still raw in people’s minds, the condescending email to season tickets about the Bayern Munich game, has now been followed up by the realisation that we will not be signing anyone in January. The divide between club and fans has never been as wide.

The 3% ticket rise sickened a lot of fans. After the increase in TV money and the clubs bumper new agreements with Emirates and Puma, plus the new commercial deals we seem to be unveiling on a regular basis, there was no need for it. The club was due to increase revenues by nearly £100m next year. Why hit the fans with a 3% rise?

Following this up was the news about Bayern Munich. We all knew that the game would be Cat A, but it was the tone of the email that got up many people’s noses. When in the email the club failed to mention prices, it was clear they were hiding their shame at charging £62 minimum for a ticket. Arsenal have been made to look worse by Bayern Munich subsidising their away fans for the game.

The episode also showed how little influence fan groups have on the club, and how little the club really cares about them. Despite all groups – RedAction, AISA, AST & BSM – agreeing on an open letter written to the club, the club has gone against the suggestions and done what is best for them, not what is best for the fans.

Finally we move onto the January transfer window. It shuts today. Arsenal have yet to sign anyone, and yesterday it was announced the £37m deal for Julian Draxler was dead in the water. This is the straw that could break the camels back. Arsenal are taking more money from fans than ever before, yet are not investing it at a time when we are in the running for a title.

Rumours are that it is Arsene Wenger who was unwilling to pay the £37m. Whilst this could be true, it would not surprise me if the board have ‘leaked’ this to ensure they have a scapegoat for another farcical transfer window. After last years embarrassing pursuit of Luis Suarez, you’d think we’d have learnt not to put eggs in baskets, only to be unwilling to pay the asking price.

On the Draxler deal, I can see what it has not gone through, and maybe on another day, views will soften on it. Yes, he could become a Ronaldo type player. Yes, he has similar potential to Eden Hazard at 20. Yes, he is one of the most promising youngsters in Europe. But is £37m a lot for ‘could be’, ‘potential’ and promising’? You could argue yes, especially when you see Juan Mata going for a similar price.

Last transfer window, Tottenham signed a promising 20 year old Argentine with bag of potential who had impressed in Italy. Erik Lamela cost them over £30m. And where is he now? Who knows. What is certain is that after just 6 months, Spurs are looking for a buyer and he will be known as one of the Premier League’s biggest flops. Spending big on ‘potential’ is a risk. Will Arsenal regret paying the big bucks for Draxler, like they did with Ronaldo? Or in a few years time, will we be thinking ‘we got that one right’.

The bigger picture on the January transfer window is not really associated with Draxler. Not signing his is as justifiable as signing him. The disgraceful act is not signing anyone. With midfielders aplenty injured, suspended and ageing and with just 1 decent striker, it was clear to everyone where we needed to improve. The thoughts were, get in a defensive midfielder, get in a striker, and the league could be ours. In 2004 we signed Jose Antonio Reyes. Whilst he might not have been a success in the long term – and a perfect example of risking a lot of money on youth – he gave the fans a lift into the second half of the season. A shot of adrenaline.

Instead, we go into Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace with no new signings, more injuries, 2nd in the league and with fan morale at an all time low. Rather than cheering the club on to victory, rather than being in a positive mood, the atmosphere in the Emirates will be a negative one.

It is hard to act. The club have been a disgrace and shown they do not care about the fans at all. But how do you let them know? Do it before a game, but still go in and it losses its affect. Do it during a game, and it could affect the team – remember, it’s the club not the team who are the disgrace. Protest after the game and again, the club have already got your money. It is such a fine line between getting your voices heard and allowing the negativity to damage the performance.

My only suggestion is next time Ivan Gazidas and the club invites you to a ‘meet Ivan’ event, accept the invitation but do not fo. Boycott it on mass. It will be an embarrassing episode and let him know clearly that Arsenal are a disgrace in the way they are treating fans. Yes, it might means the fan groups or bloggers fall out with the club. They might lose their place at the top table. Or god forbid, they might never be invited to meet Ivan again, or invited to have biscuits and tea after a shirt unveiling, but it is what needs to happen. They’ll be acting for the greater good.

Arsenal – You’re a. Disgrace. Sort it out.

Keenos

Mesut Ozil shows buying class attracts class

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When Robin van Persie left Arsenal in 2012, his reasoning was that he “club’s future strategy and their policy.” It was a warning sent out throughout Europe. Arsenal are not a club that is looking to buy top players and challenge with the best, and who could argue with him? Having sold every quality player that had come through the door since 2005, things were looking ominous at Arsenal.

It is often said class attracts class. Have a world class player in your side, and other players will want to join to play alongside him. Most players in world football would walk across hot coals to play alongside Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Ibrahimavic, etc. The theory also works in another way. If you are selling your class players, it is very hard to attract other class players. Robin van Persie could have been a watershed moment in Arsenal’s history. The only true world class performed. Who would want to join us after he left?

Well, Arsene Wenger pulled out a master stroke. In the squad, he already had Per Mertesacker. Whilst he was heavily criticised by those less educated in what it takes to be a great footballer in his early days, he was very highly regarded in Germany. This a centre back who made his international debut at 20 years old. The presence of Mertesacker would have been key in the signing of Lukas Podolski, currently Germany’s 3rd highest capped player with 111 (Mertesacker now has 95 caps).

Moving the story forward, you have to think that having 2 German legends in the squad (and go to Germany, speak to people, they do consider Mertesacker and Podolski as legends) played a big part in the signing of Mesut Ozil. Would he have signed for Arsenal had Mertesacker and Podolski not already been at the club? Probably not.

So now we have Mesut Ozil, the man named German Player of the Year 3 times in a row. Lukas Podoslki, the youngest European to reach 100 international caps. And a Big Fucking German who commands respect throughout the German national squad. Nearly 250 international caps between them. With these 3 in the squad, we are very attractive to any German player. Maybe not as attractive as Bayern Munich, but we are fast becoming a German players second favoured club to join.

This is just a small example of how buying the correct, class players can fairly easily attract other class players. Players want to play with their hero’s. It was a reason why Thierry Henry wanted to join Barcelona, as he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Sonny Anderson. It is almost certain that, when growing up, Mesut Ozil idolised Lukas Podolski. And in the same way, these links, these idolisation’s, will be key in attracting Julian Draxler.

Let me go into some history. Mesut Ozil was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in 1988. 5 years Gladbeck to Gelsenkirchenlater, Julian Draxler was born in Gladbeck. Draxler’s birth town is a mere 10km away from Ozil’s. Julian Draxler joined the Schalke youth team in 2001, at just at years old. In 2005, Schalke had discovered a 16 year old playing in the youth side of a German second division team, Rot-Weiss Essen. Ozil was a revelation in the Schalke youth set up, where within a year of signing, he had broken into the first team and was being labelled as Germany’s “next big thing”.

Now we have to make an assumption here. As Ozil was breaking into the Schalke first team at 17, it would not be unusual for other youth players to take notice and start to idolise their fellow youth players who are making the step up. As Ozil was making this break through, a 13 year old attacker was being nurtured in their youth team. By the time Ozil had left Schalke in 2008, Draxler was 15. With both Ozil and Draxler playing in similar position’s, their paths would have cross and Draxler would have felt a connection with his hero.

Fast forward the next 5 years, Ozil went on to play for Werder Breman, Real Madrid, and now Arsenal. As this was happening, Julian Draxler was beginning to be labelled as the “next big thing”. Whilst Ozil was becoming one of the best players in world football, and the best German player, Draxler was becoming one of the best young players in world football, and the best young German player. I bet you would not get great odds that Draxler once had Ozil’s picture on his wall…

TwinsAnyway, what you are seeing is a path of succession. One player becomes world class. Another player, born in the same area, makes a break through, a younger player idolised him and wants to follow in his footsteps. Ozil will become the deciding factor when it comes to Julian Draxler.

Like Ozil would not have joined Arsenal without Mertesacker and Podolski being at the club, Draxler is unlikely to have been so keen to join us with Ozil not already being their. It just once more highlights that class attracts class. Once Draxler is on board, many more young German players will be keen on joining the club.

Where as when Robin van Persie left due to our future strategy and policy, the club has done a complete 180. With no class players in our squad, it would have been hard, near impossible, to attract others – without just chucking 200k a week to everyone ala Manchester City. With the likes of Mertesacker, Podolski and Ozil we have a lot of class. Add in Cazorla and Monreal, two Spanish internationals. And then we have the cream of the English/British crop in Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott & Oxlade-Chamberlain. Suddenly Arsenal are a very attractive proposition to both young and senior players.

When it comes down to where Julian Draxler ends up, you only have to look at his options. Join the side where his boyhood hero currently plays, someone who he will feel he has a connection with, where there are 2 German legends already at the club, or go elsewhere. It will be a slam dunk.

Julian Draxler. Welcome to Arsenal.

Keenos