It's really not that strange. There's no point having players in your squad who aren't good enough, who will get extremely limited game time or who are demanding obscene money. Look at the players we've gotten rid of. Cech - retired, but wasn't good enough - £100k p/w saved. Lichtsteiner - contract wasn't renewed. Wasn't good enough - £75k p/w saved. Ramsey - wanted ludicrous wages, blew hot and cold - £110k p/w saved. Welbeck - very good 3rd choice option, but paying £90k p/w for a squad player is criminal - £90k p/w saved. Ospina - wasn't good enough, needed to leave - £70k p/w saved. Koscielny - 34 years old, not good enough anymore - £90k p/w saved. Monreal - 34 this season, doesn't have the legs to play regularly - £70k p/w saved. Iwobi - £35m was too good to turn down for a player who wasn't consistent - £30k p/w saved. Jenkinson - never good enough - £50k p/w saved. Elneny - not good enough - £55k p/w saved. Mkhitaryan - absolutely garbage - £144k p/w saved. Then we recouped about £18m from sales of youth players Dominic Thompson, Krystian Bielik, Takuma Asano and Xavier Amaechi (combined wages saved probably around £30k p/w). That's roughly £60m in fees and £914k p/w saved in wages on players that weren't going to cut it or had no future at Arsenal. Instead, we've upgraded our first team players and are incorporating the highly-rated youth players into the first-team set-up. It may look like a lot of change on the surface of it all, but I maintain that what we've done is absolutely the right thing.
But Luke's point was about squad depth and whether you go deep enough now. Nobody's arguing that there are players you were right to get rid of, but if you have an unlucky season with injuries (or even if you don't), have you got the backup to compete. I can see your youngsters struggling with fatigue if the burden on them is too heavy.
They seem to have plenty of players in some positions and they're a bit light in others. An injury to Leno, for example, leaves them relying on Emliano Martinez or Matt Macey, which is quite a risk. They've got about a million centre-halves, though.
Think the point is brunel would rather chuck in an unknown youngster in to prove himself rather than keeping deadwood who are ****e anyway. Its similar to how you boys have promoted skipp and parrot rather than keeping jansen and wanyama (well he hasnt hasnt left yet). No point keeping deadwood on big wages. Its the smart thing to do firstly cause you save money which you can spend later and secondly you arent arent trying to get rid of them in the next window so you can already line up your deals knowing you have the wage budget available. Also you might find a gem in your youth team.
I'd agree with this as a whole, but it's risky when it's a goalkeeper. Nowhere to hide and you can't do anything to mitigate the damage or switch out the position if it's not working.
Might. Or they may buckle under the intensity. I'm all for promoting from within - nothing better than one of your youth team turn into a Harry Kane for example, but to let all those players go and not bring in some seasoned players seems a little risky to me. Good on them if it works (well actually not, but you know what I mean).
Yeah, they probably could have gotten a better keeper but who knows. Do you want to be paying big bucks on a decent keeper?. You boys have got fortunate that gazza seems alright. We have willy cabalero. Is martinez really that much worse? (Up and coming keeper right).
Maybe they could have brought in some good seasoned players. But the ones they got rid of (not only were they sucking high wages) i would argue werent good seasoned pros. Surprised that monreal was let go but the rest of them: Elneny, mkhi, ospina, cech, jenkinson, iwobi, lichtstreiner, welbeck and koscielny are all no brainers. In fact they should be adding more like mustafi and xhaka. Ask yourself would you pad any of the above out in place of kwp(hasnt looked great), gazza, skipp or parrot. If the answer is no to all of them (not even considering their obscene wages) then they have done well to shed them imo As for bringing them into early. I prefer sink or swim. Else they end up rotting like our reserves (didnt do dier, alli or kanes development any harm)
In my first reply I said "Nobody's arguing that there are players you were right to get rid of," but it is bordering on incompetence to not have some replacements ready. And trust me, I know of which I speak if the loss of Dembele and Wanyama and Walker are anything to go by.
Caballero has played a good number of top level matches, including over 100 La Liga games, though. Martinez is 27 (today, funnily enough) and only has a handful of top level games, having spent a lot of time on loan and not nailing down a place. 50 Championship games, spread across several different sides and about five years, makes him more of a risk, in my opinion.
I don't think they wanted to spend the money on 2nd or 3rd placed targets not really wanted by emery (see how poch, klopp like to spend). Given the choice of: 1. Signing non first team choices and using youth 2. Still not signing first team choices and padding it out on not ideal replacements, 1 is the smart management. Admittedly the gooners seem light at fb positions and wingers but im guessing they are hoping that the youth can step up (apart from city who else has decent back ups for most positions? Maybe yourselves but everyone else dont really).
Whilst I agree, I also think that for a keeper like Martinez Arsenal will have plenty of cup football in the first half of the season to look at him, and they can add another in January if he has not performed - Leno has a good record injury wise and keepers often play every minute in the league.
Well, you've pretty much articulated my points for me, so I don't feel the need to respond to the other posts
have seen tiny bit but i really just ignore all that sort of stuff as from the tiny bits i've seen they are all just knobheads spouting gibberish which makes as much sense as Merson after 9 pints & 3 lines of whizz .
Michael Owen and Alan Shearer are bickering on social media. It's not about who is the most dull man in football, funnily enough.
I read the advert for "One Hotspur Executive Members Area". I wonder what ever became of "the poor man's game?"
If it was, it's a draw. Tbh, it's Shearer. There's nothing about him. Nothing at all. At least Owen has an interest in horses.
