Am I genuinely the only unhappy Arsenal fan today? I am about as p*ssed off as I've ever been but am baffled why everyone is so enthusiastic (and I'm usually the insanely optimistic one so I'm worried!). Firstly, we knew we were losing our two best players this summer. I refuse to believe the board/Wenger didn't know this so why weren't we searching months and months ago for a suitable replacement? By my reckoning we had 30m in the bank to spend, sold players for a combined tally of about 70m meaning very few players should have been off the radar. Let's make no bones about it, we had a threadbare squad in need of massive improvement and have seen almost more leave than we've brought in. Admittedly some of that was dross but I'd rather we kept at least the likes of Eboue as cover. We didn't and ended up using the likes of Traore in the United game who put in one of the worst performances I've ever seen from an Arsenal player. My brief ranting summary of our purchases: Park - French league player with a 1 in 4 goal tally. I don't know enough about him to judge properly but on paper that's worse than Bendtner and he was being played as a winger. Not only that but the French league is sh*te so I'm not expecting miracles. The saving grace is the cost which I have no doubt will be cynically recouped in an Asian tour next pre season. Inamoto anyone? Oxocube - So annoying. 15m on an unproven kid who can't finish 90 minutes in league 1 and hasn't blown anyone away there either. Ridiculous money when we need to strengthen in other areas. He may well turn out to be great in time but we need players now and that money seems wasted to me. Jenkinson - I've no doubt he wasn't expecting the amount of game time he's recieved so far! A good player but unspectacular. Give him time and I believe he will become a very useful squad player but nothing better. Maybe I'm misreading the early signs and he'll be amazing but I just don't see it. This could be because he's been thrown in at the deep end. Who knows? Gervinho - Encouraging but his finishing and final ball is pretty poor. I think he'll be a good squad player again but that's it. Possibly being unjust here though as he's not had time to bed in yet (WHO FECKING HAS?!) so we'll see I guess. Benayoun - Jesus. Just sweet Jesus. How far have we fallen that our once mighty rivals are content to loan a player to us? A player that can't make it in their team should have no business being near ours either. That shows the desperate gulf in squads where we have to settle for this dross. I don't think he's a bad player, just not good enough for who I want us to be. Mertesacker - Actually delighted by this. I think he'll strengthen us no end. I'd have liked to have signed Cahill too and shipped out Squillachi and maybe Djourou too but he'll be great in my opinion. Santos - Don't know anything about him bar reports and these frighten me. Described as having a terrible goal record considering the amount of chances he has! Suggests he's never in defence so not encouraging. Why we missed out on either Baines or even Enrique months ago is beyond me. Experienced Premier league players, both better than Clichy and Gibbs. Boo urns. Hopefully he'll turn out to be great but I've no idea. Still, he's better than our current options of **** all. Arteta - Meh. Just meh. An older, poorer, more injury prone Fabregas. If that's meant to be our midfield sorted then I am flabbergasted. He's a good premier league player (or was prior to injury) but that's it. As with Benayoun is this really the best we can hope for? We've now played 3 games and have to go through a gelling period with a wealth of new players so don't expect miracles for a long time. People can cite their new fancy line up and yes, it is strong, but that's one or two injuries away from being total balls again. Even then I believe the Mancs, Chelsea and Liverpool are all comfortably stronger overall. Still, at least we've lots of spare cash in the bank to keep the shareholders happy.
Before I reply in earnest I want to say NO - you are NOT the only pissed off Gooner here. I am fuming !!!!
I'm not pissed off. I'm pleased, I think before the utd game Wenger was considering not stregthening. arsenal fans should look at it this way.. Our midfields has got weaker but our defence and forward line has got stronger.
Well we're not the top team we used to be anymore, and we're not going for titles. What top players were going to join us, unless we offered big wages??? rather like city had to when they kicked off. Top 4 is the objective, and then we'll have to rebuild. We need to sort out the future of this club from the board, owners and managment level, because this summer has been a disaster. We certainly pay top dollar to watch arsenal, and thats the reason why we feel we need top quality players, but realistically at the moment we can't pay them the market rate and we can't compete with the top euro teams. Thats why this kroenke, usmanov situation must be sorted. Sadly the only man that will get us to compete is usmanov.
This is what gets me the most, the realisation we've accepted that we're not among the elite. The gripe of course is that we pay to be! I didn't think we'd buy 2 x 40m players but I was hoping that if we knew we'd be losing both Cesc and Nasri then we'd have been searching a long time and at least got one. It doesn't even need to be that but a signing of 20-25m could have got a real bit of quality and would have reassured the fans that there is still life in the club. I still think it's a strong team (once settled) but unless these players suprise me no end then it looks like a 5th - 7th squad.
Ha, sorry. I usually am very optimistic and yet am livid today. However, I'm surrounded by Arsenal fans at work grinning like fecking idiots. 2 are part tard so that accounts for them but the rest baffled me.
You mean back when we used to sign World Class players??.. no wait..THAT NEVER HAPPENED!! Wenger never signs established names and never has. What he does do is sign well.
Yes. Germany probably has the most choice when it comes to quality centrebacks yet Mertesacker is still a regular starter. (with over 70 caps) He's keeping the likes of Tasci and Hummels out of a regular place. Santos is Brazils left back and is strong, quick, experinced and skillful. He may well turn out tobe the best left back in the league.
Why are we replacing players for? We acting like we won the league last season, We needed to buy players so they can compete with the players we have got and not sell are best players. That why are best players leave. We are always replacing players instead of buying better players to keep players we have got.
There IS a gap between 3 big/rich clubs and Arsenal, and we have to face this fact and live with it, if we do not want to feel pi**ed off all time. We can not compete with them for players and can only buy players they do not want. It also looks like we can not buy players in £20+ price range because all of them demand salaries that are beyond our salary scheme. I am pretty sure that was the case with Mata. We had the money to buy him, but the board said no to his wage demands. We will be scraping for good enough players that are either too young or too old to demand huge salaries. I wanted Schweinsteiger to join Arsenal, now I realize we can not even come close to him, same goes for every other "super quality" player. We will be top 4-6 club unless Kroenke sanctions higher wages scheme. As for this transfer window - we have not got any superstars at their prime who would make as stronger "footballistacally", but the best thing is that we have changed the personnel, which was vital considering our mental collapse. I wrote many times last spring that some players had to go just for the sake of it. Eboue had to go after his awfull f*k up against Liverpool, just to let everyone know that these things will not be left unpunished. So I am glad Eboue and Denilson went. We need some fresh attitude, desire and character, and we have got it. Even if the new players will not prove to be batter than what we have as footballers, at least we have a mentally healthier squad now. That's the main positive from this transfer window - the sheer number of players gone and arrived. I hope Arteta will be able to support our midfield until Jack is ready to lead it. I think we need just one or two years. Mertesaker is the interesting one - he may either prove a big hit or a big miss. I remember Wenger saying "I do not believe in added height" this summer. Hmm.. Then again he said "No" to a question whether there was any interest in Arteta. Anyway, in a situation where we can not buy "super quality" any longer this is not the worst transfer window.
This is a real concern for me too. We need to make statements of intent to the likes of RVP, Vermaelen and even Wilshere to prove we want to be the best. I fear we are making a statement but the wrong one. We'll be ok this season but that's it. Call me greedy but I want more!
be grateful and support your team, Arsene doesn't want anyone to know the qualities of the player before signing then, All there player will improve our team. Let all support them
I think Arsenal have made the best of a bad situation. While I agree with most that it would have been better to not wait until the last day of August to make signings, the people we have brought in should add some much needed experience and quality to the squad. I would point out that it is simply unrealistic to expect us to be bidding for the biggest names in world football. We have never done this and with the current hyper inflated wages and transfer fees for the supposed top players now would be a terrible time to start doing so. I do disagree with the OP's assesments of a few of our new signings. Park- Excellent player in a terrible Monaco team. I have a mate who supports Monaco and he is very sad to see him go. He runs hard all game/every game. Last season he scored 12 in 35 games which is a very decent scoring record considering how awful monaco were. The Ox- One for the future. Shouldn't expect much from him this season. But from what I have heard he is stronger and better with the ball than Theo was at his age (which I admit doesn't mean much). Jenkinson- Thrown into the fire far too early. I agree he will become a good squad player, probably nothing more. He is a gooner through and through so when he does play we can expect him to give everything he has, which is a nice change. Gervinho- Like the look of him a lot. I expect him to be more than just a squad player. His assist record in France speaks to the fact that he can create as well as score goals. Mertesacker- Just what the doctor ordered. Only 26 yet has 70+ caps for a German team that has made two semi finals and a final over the last 3 major international tournaments (compare that with England's supposed top defenders). Benayoun- Mehh, no more than an impact sub/squad player. Santos- In the first 11 for the Brazilian national team, what more could you ask for?! Scored 10 goals in 52 games for Fenerbahce which is very respectable for a fullback, (dont know how the OP can say he has a poor goal scoring record). He has also won trophies for both club and country. I say he is a definite improvement over Clichy. Arteta- Certainly no Fabregas, but who is? He has always had a very respectable assists record everywhere he has played. I look forward to seeing how well he is able to link up with RVP, Theo, Gervinho, etc. With this team I definitely see us as top four material, better than Liverpool in my opinion. About equal with Chelski and two or three quality players behind both Manchester clubs. August was a tough month, but now we have a run of relatively easier games and if we can get a nice winning run going I see us back around the top 4 come november/december. What can I say? I am a optimist.
