The reason we pursued Suarez for so long was that the release clause was there. It was Henry who refused to honour that clause, so it that was out of Wenger's hands. I don't think there was plenty of time left to get another striker and as you'll remember we went for Ba on a loan, but Mourinho blocked that too. You could say we should have signed Higuain in the first place, but then with us meeting Suarez' release clause he should have been an Arsenal player. If he had of been now, then I don't think this conversation about Wenger would even be happening, so you can see how fine the margins can be and how those decisions are not Wenger's alone. I'm not happy with the situation at Arsenal especially the way we have folded against our rivals and the weakness in attack - and I think our squad still lacks the one or two quality players that would make the difference, which has been a consistent problem through the last eight years - i.e. it's a case of nearly, but not enough and we fall at the final hurdle. That is a squad issue. I think finances have been a major issue, not only were we not able to sign those players, but we also lost our best players too. I don't think you can put all of that right in one window and January is notoriously difficult. Wenger does have flaws, but he's still a decent manager. We signed Ozil last summer and I think we'll probably sign Draxler this summer along with another quality player, but you have to be careful about what you wish for, because if Wenger does leave and the likelihood is that Bould will be installed as temporary manager until we can find a replacement, then you have to ask whether we can attract those players at all ? I'm not opposed to replacing Wenger, but it has to be with somebody who can do the job better. I know people think that getting rid of Wenger will be a solution, but it could just as easily be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.
It was completely in his hands. There was plenty of time left when Liverpool said they wouldn't sell. And that's it, they said they wouldn't sell, with the famous "what are they smoking over there at the Emirates." Why didn't Arsenal move on to new targets then rather than faffing and doing nothing? Ba on loan in the last few days, when desperation was setting in. A striker should have been signed up long before this. Even if it was Ba, if they'd gone for him straight after the Suarez debacle they probably would have got him. They left it too late, again. The margins aren't fine. Plenty of people have been saying the same things for many seasons, and they've always been met with "when he has money..." Now he does, and nothing has changed. The margins aren't fine because Wenger hasn't addressed any of the problems that stop him from succeeding, and he never will. Decent, but not good enough for Arsenal. I'd rather take the risk of success or failure without Wenger, than the guarantee of failure with him.
I have to respectfully disagree with your overall assessment of those situations. But I do agree that serious work needs to be done at Arsenal, in terms of the squad, the attitude and the tactics. I wouldn't be happy going into this summer with Steve Bould at the helm though as I don't think we'd be nearly as attractive option for the likes of Draxler, Bender, Mandzukic etc.
What's the point of signing all these new players? They won't help us win with the tactics AW employs. And I repeat... There's NO evidence that AW is still a decent manager. Suarez was completely in his hands. Offer more money. Suarez is clearly worth more than £40m. If AW honestly only valued him at £40m he's out of touch. If he valued him at more than £40m but refused to go higher then he's a stubborn fool and not fit for purpose.
We met his release clause and they refused to sell, what makes you think wenger could have done anything to change that?
If the release clause was £40m then why would you offer £60m ? This was pointed out to you the other day. If something costs £5, you don't then go and offer £9 The point is that Arsenal met the agreed value and Liverpool reneged on his contract agreement.
...then Arsenal fluffed up the search for a striker for the rest of the window by doing absolutely nothing until it was too late...again.
It looked like the ba deal was our backup plan incase nothing else worked, but after we got ozil mourinho pulled the plug. It was disappointing for sure but it was obviously an area of the squad we tried to improve.
Who cares what the release clause was as it meant nothing. You pay what you feel something is worth. Only a stubborn fool would think Suarez wasn't worth more than £40m. Someone pointing that out the other day doesnt make it any more of a pointless point. Suarez didn't 'cost £5'. He didn't have a price label on him. He wasn't on a supermarket shelf priced at £39.99m. He WASNT available for £40m. So offer more. You think other clubs would have laughed at us for overpaying if we'd gotten Suarez for £60m?
I care not one jot what Arsenal tried to do, only what they did do. They didn't recruit a decent striker. Trophies aren't handed out for trying. Only succeeding.
You are misunderstanding this. Suarez DID have a 'supermarket shelf price' it was £40m What happened then was that the seller reneged on the contractual agreement.
I'm not misunderstanding anything and I can't see how you can't comprehend that there's nothing stopping you offering more money. I've got a car here that's been valued at £400. You really want it? It's the best car out there and will win you races. You want it for £400? Tough. Oh, you'd offer me £600? Fair enough, deal.
Lol the over reactions to any comment that doesn't totally deride the manager are quite amusing. The sarcasm not so much. I think we had plans in place to secure a striker and a backup plan. I also think we did well in other areas of the squad during that transfer window. I agree it was a failing to not secure an additional striker though despite our attempts. But I was pointing out that the manager and club can obviously see the same things we can and are working to address those areas. So whilst I can understand the annoyance that we didn't get a striker it seems over the top to me considering the stance of the club.
Did well in other areas? We spent £42m last minute on a player who, even though world class, plays in the same position as a player who was already arguably our best and about the only position we didn't really need strengthening.
The point again being that if something is marked for sale, in contractual agreement at a certain price, then as a buyer you have a contractual right to purchase at that price. Suarez had a clause in his contract that he could be sold for anything over £40m. Arsenal met that contractual requirement and Liverpool reneged on that contract.
Who cares? Liverpool don't. Other clubs don't. OFFER MORE MONEY. If they still refuse then fair enough.
Ozil was a great addition to the squad and gives us the chances we need to win games when the opposition sit 11 men behind the ball, this was missing before he joined us and has been missing since he got injured. Flamini on a free is one of the best transfers of the window. He added much needed leadership and bite to our midfield and formed a very impressive partnership with Ramsey and ozil earlier in the season. Sanogo was brought in and despite him not having many opportunities so far I do think he may well surprise some people in the future. We also cleared out all of the old deadwood (we even had a deal in place to get rid of bendtner) and signed up our core of key British players to long term contracts. So yes I think we did plenty of good things in the transfer window, with the only key failing being not getting in an extra striker.
