Tag Archives: She Wore

Aaron Ramsey, Ousmane Dembele and future Arsenal wingers

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After the joy of watching England over the summer, the national team has reverted to type since.

Gareth Southgate has lost almost all of the good will gained due to the decision to pick Wayne Rooney for a goodbye cap, make Fabian Delph captain, and select some horrendously average players – the likes of Delph, Michael Keane, Lewis Dunk and Harry Winks.

I did not watch last night games. I could not care less for it. Mainly due to the Rooney fiasco, but also due to what Southgate is doing to the national team at the moment.

Anyway, it has been the dullest of dull interlulls, but yesterday we had a bit of breaking news as Aaron Ramsey was close to agreeing a deal to join Bayern Munich next summer on a free transfer.

These things do have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Ramsey is not actually allowed to discuss anything with a foreign club until January 1st. Although I am not naive enough to think that his people have not spoken to top clubs around Europe.

Moving to Munich would (and would not) make sense for him. I would be very surprised if he moves abroad with such a young family – his wife gave birth to twins a month ago.

However Munich seems like a good fit, and I can see him doing very well in Germany.

They are one of the few clubs that would pay him what he wants, and with James Rodriguez likely to leave and Thomas Muller seemingly shot, you can see Ramsey starting in the advanced midfield position he thrives in.

There are a couple of bellends at games who seem to laugh at booing him. Whilst he wears an Arsenal shirt, we should be backing him. And remember it is Arsenal’s decision to let him go, not his decision to leave.

I wish him luck if he joins Munich.

Other news surrounds Ousmane Dembele.

A few days ago he was heavily linked with Liverpool. I posed the question on Twitter as to whether Arsenal should be in for him at a similar price in January.

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/1062690099429814273

The result was close, but ultimately the British people voted to leave Europe the majority would take him.

At £85m, he would take up almost all of our summer 2019 transfer funds, especially when you take into account that he is rumoured to be on £220k a week at Barcelona.

Despite this, I would still move for him.

Next season we need two wingers, a left back and a centre back. If we assume Reiss Nelson is going to continue his fine form and development in Germany, we can assume that between him and Alex Iwobi we have the right hand side locked down. Nelson will save us £30+.

What that means is we could double up on the left hand side. use the funds we would have assigned to signing a right winger and put them towards the left winger.

attempted to do some back of the fag packet maths yesterday to show how we can sign Dembele and still have enough in the pot to secure the centre back and left back we need:

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/1063043679420628993

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/1063043703697276933

Before people get hung up on the left back, I have since changed my opinion, that we should offer Nacho Monreal one more year, cash in on Kolasinac, and buy a left back who has the potential to be long term first choice. But that is a debate for another day.

I might attempt to expand on what Arsenal can and can not buy another day.

Whilst we are talking about wingers, I encourage you to read this excellent blog by Jorge Bird detailing the talented young wingers in Arsenal’s youth teams.

I have seen our youth play a few times recently, certainly not as much as Jorge (or JW who blogs here), and we do seem to have a lot of the same type of players coming through.

We have an abundance of rapid wide men throughout our youth system, but they are also technically excellent.

Nelson aside, the two I am most excited by Xavier Amaechi and Bukayo Saka.

Amaechi is a left winger and some have claimed that he is the quickest player at the club. Currently injured, he has a big future and next year would be knocking on the door of the first team squad for the summer tour and League Cup games.

Still just 17, he has a bright future. Will we follow the same route as Nelson with him? Send him abroad a year where his sort of talent does not get kicked out of him (unlike in the Championship), before he returns to Arsenal for 2020/21 to compete for a place on Arsenal’s left hand side.

Coming up behind Amaechi is Saka, who has only just turned 16. The youngster has taken advantage of his older team mates injury to cement a a place in Arsenal’s U23s. He has also appeared for England U19s.

Saka is perhaps a year behind Amaechi in terms of development. Despite both being born in 2001 (how old does that make you feel?), they fall into different English school years. That does have an affect on development and when they could start playing more competitive football.

I expect Saka to continue his development and we will see more of him in the summer of 2020, before he pushes into the first team in 2021.

That might seem a long time away, but Saka will still just be 19 when the 2021/22 season starts!

What is exciting is underneath Alex Iwobi, we have 3 very talented wingers in Nelson, Amaechi and Saka, all of whom will be given time to develop and make an impact over the next 2 or 3 years.

That’s all from me today, the cricket is on and I have some cleaning to do. Enjoy your day!

Keenos

Reiss Nelson: “I want to be an Arsenal legend”

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This morning there is a terrific interview on the BBC with England youngsters Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson. The duo are currently ripping up the Bundesliga.

The pair – who have been friends since before they were teens – moved to Germany in the search for first team football. Sancho joined; Nelson joining Hoffenheim on loan from Arsenal.

Between them they have scored 11 goals and made 8 assists in all competitions, form that has led to Sancho to be called up to the England national team.

Despite both being 18; the interview showed that they both have sensible heads on their young shoulders.

There is not a hint of arrogance in either. Neither comes across as a party boy. Both talk about their families. Both talk about how they know they have talent, and know they have to work hard to be the best.

Over the years we have seen plenty of young talented footballers. Most have the wrong attitude. They get the money early, a contract which will make them £5million over 5 years, and they fade away. They get that first contract on their potential rather than their performances, they take the foot off the pedal, become more interested in cars, girls and social media, and eventually fade away.

By moving to Germany both Sancho and Nelson have already shown they have a different mind set. They did not want to be the big man amongst their mates. Paying for the all vodkas in Tiger Tiger VIP whilst surrounded by girls looking to bag (or bang) a footballer. They took themselves out of their comfort zone, to Germany, to improve.

Nelson is living in Heidelberg with his family. A university town with just 160,000 residents – it is the equivalent of living in Oxford or Cambridge. That is half the people that grew up in the Borough of Southwark – where Nelson grew up. To go from a 10,000,000 city to a 160,000 town would have required huge adjustments. He has adjusted well.

The Arsenal youngster was rumoured to be on his way out of the club a year ago. Instead he signed a new long term deal and moved his life to Germany for a year. He was named Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for October.

A few fans are calling him to make a return in January. This would not be beneficial to either him or Arsenal.

Despite his good form for Hoffenheim, he has only started 4 games. To expect him to go from impact sub in Germany to starter at Arsenal is another huge jump.

He would be much better staying in Germany. Over the year forcing his way in to the first team, to become a first team regular. Once he is playing regularly for the Hoffenheim first team, we will know that he is nearly ready for the Arsenal first team.

By the end of the season, Arsenal will be getting a teenage right winger who has had a full season in one of Europe’s top leagues, and who has excelled in that league. What would his value be? £30m? £40m?

The term “like a new signing” is one that is detested by many Arsenal fans, as it was usually used to justify no signing as we had a player coming back from injury.

In Nelson, he would be like a new signing.

He went away to Germany as a boy struggling to make an impact – just 146 Premier League minutes to his name last season. He is set to come back as a man. A first team player who Gareth Southgate will no longer be able to continue to ignore.

Arsenal need two wingers next season. A right winger and a left winger. Nelson could be that right winger.

With his good attitude, his natural ability and his years experience in Germany, Arsenal would be promoting one of Europe’s best young players into their first team. He would be like a new signing.

Maybe in the summer Arsenal should make the double swoop and bring Sancho back to England. See what Dortmund want. And then have the two most exciting talents in English football either side of Mesut Ozil.

If it all go’s right for Nelson, there is no reason he can not become the Arsenal legend he dreams of.

Keenos

As Arsenal are changing, some fans also need to change

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A great man once said “do you like Arsenal? Or just Arsenal with trophies”.

I was reminded by what Dennis Bergkamp said as I scrolled through social media on Monday following Sunday’s disappointing draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It was like suddenly we were transported back 12 months ago, with the fan complaining, moaning and criticism that defined the end of the end of the Arsene Wenger era.

One comment I saw that really resonated with was that this Arsenal was the Arsenal they fell in love with. That their Arsenal “were a winning Arsenal not just making up the numbers”. This was amongst many tweets that I read they made me realise that some of our fans will never be happy unless we are winning trophies.

But it is not just trophies that they want. It is these trophies. The Premier League, the Champions League.

These same people complained that winning the FA Cup was not good enough. So it is not that they only love Arsenal with trophies; they love Arsenal with league titles.

We all spent 6 months or more (I saw one idiot saying he has been Wenger Out since 2001!). That change has come.

Arsene Wenger. GONE. Ivan Gazidis GONE. Majority of the coaching staff. GONE. And in his come Unai Emery, with his own staff, alongside Raul Sanllehi and Sven Mislintat. Change has happened, and Arsenal have moved forward.

But some of these fans have seemingly not moved forward. They demanded “Time to Change” but they have not changed themselves.

They are on to the next one. Criticising the players, already on the managers back. Moaning that the club did not spend enough money, and demanding Stan Kroenke to put in his billions or leave.

And it is billions that Kroenke would have to put in.

We have all read the stories about Manchester City and the £2.7bn investment that Sheikh Mansoor has put into the club. It is with that huge investment that has enabled Manchester City to have one of the strongest 25 man squads seen in the game.

Yesterday Arsenal looked short on the bench. On game changers. Manchester City’s starting XI was without Kevin de Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus & Ilkay Gundogan. These 5 players would start for every Premier League side. And City brushed aside Manchester United 3-1 without them starting.

These fans who are moaning will not be happy until we win the title. City is what we need to match, need to beat, to win the title. I think anyone who would expect an owner to put in £2.7bn, to write it off, are completely unreasonable. There are two sides in world football doing this at the moment. City and PSG.

The fact that fans also think Kroenke has the spending power to compete shows how naive they are when it comes to business, and net worth.

Forbes estimate Kroenke to be worth $8.5bn (£6.5m). But this is net worth, this is not how much spare cash he has under his sofa.

This worth is tied up in hundreds of investments. From personal homes and ranches, to various sports clubs around the world. The recent buy out of Arsenal shares valued the club at £1.8bn. That is 27% of Kroenke’s net worth.

For Kroenke to be able to put up the kind of money Manchester City have spent, he would have to take huge loans against his businesses. Against Arsenal.

Would you be happy Kroenke mortgaging Arsenal further to the hilt to win a league title? I certainly wouldn’t.

Imagine the outcry if it was announced Kroenke was taking a £1bn loan out against Arsenal to spend on transfers, salaries and more. It is that kind of action that could make Arsenal the next Leeds or Portsmouth. Where you are in debt up to your eyeballs.

Matching Manchester City’s spending power is just not realistic.

“but Liverpool are challenging”.

You are right, Liverpool are unbeaten and just 2 points behind Manchester City after 12 games. But last season they finished 25 points behind them in 4th place.

They were also in 4th place the year before, 17 points behind champions Chelsea (and just 1 point ahead of Arsenal). So how about we judge if Liverpool have put up a title challenge once we are in the business end of the season.

Also, by putting Liverpool as the example of a side competing makes it even more silly that fans are already getting on the back of Emery.

Jurgen Klopp is in his 4th season at Liverpool. He has had 6 transfer windows. Spent over £380m. It we are going to compare Emery to Klopp, should we not give the Spaniard the same time the German has had before becoming critical?

In his 3 completed seasons at Liverpool, Klopp has led them to 8th, 4th & 4th with no trophies won. It is odd that the fans who are moaning that we currently sit 5th. That Arsenal without trophies is not the Arsenal they love; yet they praise a Liverpool side that has not won anything in a decade.

Most sensible fans would have known that it would take Emery more than 6 months and one transfer window to fix Arsenal.

We are still a left back, a centre back and 2 wingers short of being a side that would compete for second (and another £2.5bn off a team that could be champions).

Klopp has had the time to build Liverpool in his vision. He has spent big on the likes of Allison, Virgil van Dijk & Mo Salah. Arsenal will make these signings as time goes on. But we can not expect us to go out and spend £250m in one transfer window to immediately close the gap.

A final thought is right now fans will say but what about Leicester.

It is about time the fans realised that Leicester was a one off. And one of the main reasons they won the league was because of Manchester City’s failure.

Leicester won the league with 81 points. City got just 66 points that season.

To put that into perspective, Arsenal got just 3 points less (63) last season than City did in Leicester’s title winning season.

I am of the feeling that for teams to finish above City, you firstly need them to have a poor season. You could have a brilliant season, get 85+ points, and City will be near or above the 90 point mark.

Emery needs time. The new Arsenal regime need time.

If you are not willing to give the new management team time; or demand that we replicate Manchester City style spending, then you clearly do not love Arsenal. You only love Arsenal with trophies.

Keenos