Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Mesut Ozil & Gareth Bale – The Tale of Two Fallen Stars

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It was West Bromwich Albion away back in 2013 when I first heard it:

How does it feel to be Tottenham,
How does it feel to be small,
You sold Bale,
We signed Mesut Ozil, Mesut Ozil

It always saddened me that the rip-off West Ham Dimtri Payet song took over as the chant for Mesut Ozil. But that day in the course of the Hawthornes, we were bouncing.

On 1 September 2013, Real Madrid announced the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham for a then world record fee of £85.1 million. A day later Arsenal Arsenal announced the club record signing of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for £42.5million.

It felt very much that Madrid had sold Arsenal their world class German creator to make space for the Welsh winger.

Tottenham had sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, which allowed Real Madrid to sell Mesut Ozil to Arsenal.

It was a glorious moment and one which made a mockery of Tottenham’s special relationship with Madrid.

7 years on and both players are at similar stages of their career.

No longer are they world beating stars. Neither is performing to their former world class standard, but both still earn world class salaries. No longer the first names on the teamsheet.

After 7 years, Real Madrid and Arsenal both want rid of Bale and Ozil.

Anyone who has watched the pair will know they are no where near their former glories. Anyone that thinks that they are still capable of playing to the high level they both previously performed at is deluded.

Mesut Ozil was bought for his assists, Gareth Bale bought for his goals. It is interesting that both players peaked in 2015/16 with an identical output; 19 assists for Ozil, 19 goals for Bale.

Neither player has reached that height since – although Bale did have a little renaissance in 2017/18.

From both contributing 19 goals or assists in 2015/16, Ozil and Bale contributed just 2 last season. Clearly neither are as influential on the pitch as they were 4 years ago.

Off the pitch both players have also declined.

Bale has caused a lot of problems in Madrid in recent years, reportedly preferring to be alone on the golf course than with his teammates. He has isolated himself from the team, a salutary character.

Whilst Ozil is still popular amongst his teammates, he separated himself from the Arsenal squad by refusing to take the pay cut. In doing so he became the outlier of the squad.

Both players have also become deeply unpopular with the fanbase. Neither Arsenal or Madrid fans will be upset if Bale or Ozil leave this summer, infact moves will be celebrated by many.

It will be seen as losing a highly paid, underperforming former great player. Someone who fans have never really connected with en-masse, never really bought into The Arsenal or Real Madrid. An individual talent more concerned with themselves than the team they play for.

It is interesting, therefore, that the move of Bale to Tottenham is being celebrated as some sort of coup.

Would the media be celebrating Mesut Ozil moving to Newcastle or Everton on loan? Both clubs would be hammered for signing an expensive player who no longer performs at the top of the game.

Bale and Ozil’s career since moving to and from North London and Madrid in 2013 have taken a similar path.

Very good performances, contributed to their clubs winning trophies, and then demise.

Both are now shadows of the players they previously were, whilst being the top earners at their clubs.

Maybe it is time for a new song?

How does it feel to be Tottenham,
How does it feel to be small,
You signed Bale,
We sold Mesut Ozil, Mesut Ozil

Keenos

Risky Runar Runarsson

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Arsenal have taken a risk signing unknown Icelandic keeper Runar Alex Runarsson.

Our friends over at Gunners Town have spoken to the Vice President of the official Arsenal Iceland, Hilmar Guðjónsson about his fellow countryman, and the exclusive makes fairy grim reading.

Hilmar reveals that “Iceland are not blessed with good goal keepers”, which is a concern when Runarsson has just 5 caps, and has not played since 2015.

Runarsson joined Dijon in 2018, but last season lost his place as number 1, starting just 9 Ligue 1 games.

Hilmar goes on to say that Runarsson has a poor shot stop ratio and does not dominate his area.

Arsenal goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana has previously coaches Runarsson at FC Nordsjælland, so you have to feel he has been recommend to the club.

So Runarsson does not arrive with a glowing reputation. Arsenal are clearly taking huge risk signing him.

Arsenal received a reported £17m upfront from Aston Villa for Emi Martinez, and a decision has clearly been made to buy the “cheapest option possible” leaving the majority of that fee to be spent elsewhere on the team.

The club could have gone out and signed David Raya from Brentford for £10m.

Spaniard Raya is an experience Championship goalkeeper and, importantly, home grown. Instead Arsenal went for Runarsson for just £1.5m.

That leaves Arsenal with £15.5m spare from the Martinez deal, rather than £7m.

Arsenal are taking a risk on Bernd Leno staying fit.

Leno is undisputed number 1. He will be between the sticks for every game. Runarsson is being signed to take a seat on the bench.

Arsenal would have looked at Leno and realised he is a fit young man.

Leno has missed just 19 League games in 9 seasons, playing out of 296 out of 315 league games for Arsenal and Leverkusen.

According to Transfermarkt, he has had 2 spells in his career when he missed games.

Back in 2012/13, he missed a handful of games with an elbow injury. More recently he missed games for Arsenal following a dangerous challenge by Neal Mupay against Brighton.

By signing Runarsson, Arsenal are banking on Leno maintaining his excellent injury record.

But what if he gets injured again?

My feeling is Arsenal would request the Premier League to authorise an emergency loan to cover Leno rather than promote Runarsson to number 1.

Premier League rules state that “teams are allowed to sign goalkeepers on emergency loan cover, but this is generally if no senior goalkeepers are available”.

Arsenal would then have to make the case that, despite being 25, Runarsson is not a “senior goal keeper”.

In their favour, they could argue that he has yet to start a Premier League game, and only made 9 starts in France last year.

If the league agree to the loan deal, Arsenal could then scour England for the “best available number 2” to come in on a temporary basis.

If Emi Martinez is playing week in, week out for Aston Villa, there is a high chance that could be Tom Heaton.

Arsenal might have to write off the “additional fees” to secure the England international, whom Villa signed for £8m just last summer.

Fraser Forster from Southampton and Marek Rodak of Fulham would also be options if the time came to it – the later will probably be usurped as number one by Alphonse Areola this season.

The emergency loan would then come into the first team with Runarsson remaining on the bench.

By going cheap to Runarsson, Arsenal are freeing money up to be spent elsewhere, but it is a risk.

Note: Since writing this blog, news has broken that Arsenal might also sign David Raya, with the deal being completed this summer, by Raya allowed to stay on loan at Brentford for the season.

This would only make sense if Arsenal only made a down payment this summer, with the rest of the transfer fee being paid next summer. And Arsenal had a clause in the loan deal allowing Raya to be recalled at any time if Bernd Leno picked up an injury (with the remaining transfer fee payable immediately).

An interesting development.

Keenos

Aubameyang contract kicks off new era for Arsenal

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After what seemed like an eternal wait for Arsenal fans, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally confirmed his future with the club by signing a three-year contract, which will keep him at Emirates Stadium until 2024. 

Rumours swirled surrounding the future of Aubameyang following his FA Cup Final winning brace in August. The player posted a number of cryptic tweets that featured an hourglass, sending Arsenal supporters into a frenzy when his new deal was announced on Tuesday. 

With his new contract signed, read on below for how Aubameyang’s decision to commit to Arsenal could help the Gunners’ pursuit of players in the transfer market.

Having wrapped up a deal for their talismanic captain, Arsenal’s attention must turn to their top transfer targets before the window closes on 5 October. Manager Mikel Arteta has maintained his interest in midfield duo Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar, who have been the Spaniard’s preferred options for much of the summer. 

After impressing in Lyon’s run to the Champions League semi-finals last season, Aouar could be persuaded to join Arsenal because of the presence of a world-class finisher in Aubameyang. Although the Gunners are playing in the Europa League, this could be an attraction for Aouar. Lyon missed out on European football altogether when Ligue 1 was terminated in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The presence of Aubameyang, who leads by example with an excellent goal-scoring record, could help Aouar integrate quickly into the side should he choose to join. Thanks to their French-speaking connection, Aouar would have the chance to settle seamlessly into an Arsenal side that is crying out for creative talent. 

Arsenal are also finding it tricky to negotiate for Partey with Atletico Madrid insistent that, unless his £50 million release clause is met, he will not be allowed to leave. The player is said to prefer a move to the Premier League but is yet to force his way through the exit door. 

The message sent by the Arsenal skipper in rejecting Barcelona is that he has complete faith in Arteta and the Spaniard’s ambitious rebuilding process. After all, Arteta has won the FA Cup and had his job title changed from head coach to manager in the space of nine months as Arsenal boss. These are on and off pitch examples respectively that Arteta is prepared to take full responsibility for the club’s fortunes on the road to success. 

This is a factor that must not be underestimated in north London. After the acrimonious events of last winter that dangerously divided the Arsenal fanbase, Arteta has instilled a sense of hope and optimism amongst supporters barely a year into the job. Moreover, he has drilled accountability and discipline into his players that has led to a healthy competitionfor places amongst the squad. 

Although he is the first name on the team-sheet, Aubameyangis at the forefront of this. 

Asked by Arteta to move out to the left wing to accommodateAlexandre Lacazette or Eddie Nketiah, he did not once complain about being shifted out of position. Instead, the Gabon international remained focused on scoring goals, for he knew this is how he would contribute to the team most effectively. 

Arsenal have already beaten off Napoli and Manchester United in the transfer market this summer by signing Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille. Already, signs are showing of Arsenal’s ability to attract top players.

The news that Arsenal’s star striker will remain at the club, having been convinced by his manager’s project, is evidence that the Gunners are embarking on a mission to achieve success. Having Aubameyang along for the ride will only accelerate the process.

Zac Campbell