Considering the consensus on Gervinho you'd think that buying a cheap winger from the French league who isn't as good as Walcott would be the last thing the club needs.
Gervinho is a decent squad player and he helped us out a couple of times in that role. But now some of the people who moan abour squad depth want to throw away a good backup option to have.
Here's another transfer target we can blame Wenger & Gazidis for missing http://metro.co.uk/2008/02/01/maradona-im-an-arsenal-fan-and-almost-signed-for-gunners-622395/
What a couple of dithering ****ers, even though Gazidis was only four years old at the time that is no ****ing excuse for missing out on the best player in the world.
Just a couple of reminders for all. The club said that they have £70m that they can spend. Not that they have to spend £70m. AFC cannot dictate to other clubs or players as to which team any given player must sign for (or when). Wenger & the club know infinitely more about the transfer market than any of us on this board. Rumours do not become fact just because they appear to suit your agenda. My minefields are activated. ya contcha!
You're just a Wenger apologist, making excuses for when we inevitably sign some French teenager that nobody has heard of on the last day of the window. It's people like you who are willing to accept mediocrity and celebrate fourth place like it's a trophy
My Dad dancing skills are epic - I've been bouncing around the living room with the bambino on my shoulder listening to Thelonious Monk this week
Rubbish. The procedure is: 1) Wenger faxes the player's club saying: "I will give you £30m for him"; 2) The club faxes back right away to accept the deal; 3) Wenger speaks to the player and gives him what he wants; 4) Ensuing medical, photos holding up the shirt, meeting the press etc. Turnaround - 1 day. There are literally no other variables at play here. Wenger just chooses not to do this because he's senile.
If youd said the procedure SHOULD BE, rather than IS I would have agreed with you. What actually happens is Wenger says to the board I want player A. The board ask how much and the board say they'll try to get him for less. The board make a silly low offer for the player with a caveat that any negotiations are subject to the negotiations being kept secret. There are then unsubstantiated rumours we are interested. Over the next month or two the board gradually increase their offer and, if no other club such as Chelsea or the spuds put in a higher offer, we get to talk to the player. We then go through the same process with player wage negotiations. Any signings we get are purely subject to no one else showing more desire to sign the player (which is what I saw Mata say in a post match interview once was the reason he hadn't signed for us and then signed for Chelsea because they showed the desire to sign him). Arsenal = stall the deal and drag it out to save a couple of quid Chelsea = SPEND, SPEND, SPEND.
It's never how the process will be because there are such a huge number of obstacles in the way. It's easy for us to say: "Well, why doesn't he just do this and this with this to get his man?" when we have little idea of the complexities of transfer dealings. Check out the FourFourTwo link posted in another thread for some illuminating insights on the process. As to the idea that Chelsea see their man and buy him, it's not only grossly simplistic (they are bound to fail to meet valuations, wage demands, agent fees etc. and miss out on targets) but it's also no news to anyone that they have the financial leeway to be profligate. Arsenal will always be handicapped in the face of the teams to whom money is no object.
Not every winger in France is like Gervinho. Gervinho lacks the basic aspects of the game, ie touch, ball control, decision making, technique - basic attributes you would expect from any footballer playing for a big club. Just because he doesn't, doesn't mean every other footballer in France will.
