Arsenal

[The Fox]

Higuain is a beast but I reckon his wages must be astronomical. You could argue that if we break the bank to give someone like that a contract, why not just offer than to Van Persie instead?

Yeah he's got to be on £130k+ I guess. I suppose the difference is that - if he's even interested in negotiating - RVP would probably want well in excess of £120k a week for at least three years, and he's 29 now. Does the club want to be paying that sort of money to someone at 32-33 years old? Maybe not.

[Rocafella]

Higuain wouldn't join us and I very much doubt Madrid would sell him. We're not in the elite group of European clubs. I definitely think we'll be active this summer though. This is the first time I've had the feeling that Wenger has lost faith in certain players and genuinely feels let down by them and rightly so.

[The Fox]

The funds exist. The various blog posts from the likes of Swiss Ramble show this and is backed up by those close enough to the Club like Tim Payton.

The real question is why they haven't been spent in the last couple of years and this is partly due to Wenger. The suggestion was that, as a result the purchases over the Summer (Arteta, BFG, Santos et al) weren't Wengers choices but the 'board' forcing his hand and bringing people in anyways. For me we need to place the pressure back on Wenger and allow him the chance to make the team better by telling him to spend money or he won't be offered a new contract.

I don't buy that. We know he wanted Mata; that was well documented. That the club made a massive hash of it is not Wenger's fault. He doesn't do negotiations on signings or contracts.

[Art Vandelay]

I don't really know why Wenger wouldn't spend money if it was available though. A man of his knowledge must surely be aware that if you take essentially the same team as last year, remove the best player and replace him with someone not as good, a left back with someone not as good and a winger with someone's who's about the same then you're not going to do as well as last year, where we didn't do very well.

He's a stubborn old so and so, but he's not daft. I don't think he likes the way clubs try to buy success, but he also isn't so dogmatic that he'd seriously try and justify a position whereby we've spent literally nothing for the last 6 years as a blue print for success. Why make life difficult, if not impossible for yourself? It stinks.

[Rocafella]

We make money by selling players. Commercially we are miles behind even clubs like Liverpool as a result of us needing cash up front to build our stadium. Once they expire and we can start negotiating far better deals, then we might actually generate enough to go out and consistently spend £20-30 million a season.

At the moment, I think people are equating our cash reserves as a giant transfer 'warchest' that will magically replenish itself year after year. It won't.

[BlinkyBear]

I don't buy that. We know he wanted Mata; that was well documented. That the club made a massive hash of it is not Wenger's fault. He doesn't do negotiations on signings or contracts.

You're probably right but that was and remains in some cases, the suggestion from some people within the club that was then relayed by a couple of bloggers. It does seem odd that even after Cesc and Nasri was sold (Nasri was sold without Wenger's consent remember) that he had time to go and choose players to replace them, but chose not to do so. Were the players only brought in in the last 48 hours before the deadline closed that because Wenger buggered off to some European conference and the Club decided to act without his say so? That's been the suggestion from some.

Regardless, we're in a mess and something has to change. If Wenger truly isn't as stubborn as some has made out then he'll find some money from somewhere, even if you chose to believe we don't have any spare cash, because why otherwise would he allow the Club to get in an even worse state of affairs?

[BlinkyBear]

At the moment, I think people are equating our cash reserves as a giant transfer 'warchest' that will magically replenish itself year after year. It won't.

Not at all. Those who have looked at the figures have said that the only reason we make money is because of player and property sales and until the Stadium is paid off, the money it brings in won't help us to turn a profit.

What people have said though, is that we are sitting on a cash reserve that can (and should) be spent which would hopefully in turn, create a team which wins things and generates more cash. Essentially, we need to speculate to accumulate. The very short sighted issue is that by not spending money on a good squad and brilliant first team is that we don't win things and therefore don't bring in prize-money and then are not in a position to attract large commercial deals and exceptional players..

[The Fox]

Maybe that did happen with the players brought in on deadline day. It's a matter of record that Wenger was indeed out of the country at the time.

But if it did happen that way, I'd wager it was only because the club failed miserably to get any of the players Arsene actually did want, by refusing the pay the requisite transfer fees and wages. Didn't Arteta end up taking a wage cut to join us?

[BlinkyBear]

Maybe that did happen with the players brought in on deadline day. It's a matter of record that Wenger was indeed out of the country at the time.

But if it did happen that way, I'd wager it was only because the club failed miserably to get any of the players Arsene actually did want, by refusing the pay the requisite transfer fees and wages. Didn't Arteta end up taking a wage cut to join us?

Apparently so, yes.

Either way, it's a mess that the Club and Wenger need to sort out. We cannot allow another Summer of not buying anyone of significant quality and it if takes an ultimatum of Wenger to do so or a mass of people not renewing season tickets, then that's fine by me. Wenger needs to pull his finger out and either spend the money that's there or demand the Board get some cash from the two Billionaire's who essentially own the Club.

[Daley]

We have been waiting for "The Summer" for I don't know how long. For my own sanity I expect the same this summer. RvP out, maybe one or two others too, followed by replacements who are not as good.

[carlito]

I don't know why everyone is so convinced RVP will leave.

Totti never did.

[Daley]

I don't know why everyone is so convinced RVP will leave.

Totti never did.

Is this a real post? You are comparing Francesco "born in Rome, supported Roma, won the Scuddeto with Roma" Totti with RvP?

[Dude Ranch]

I don't know why everyone is so convinced RVP will leave.

I've been convinced he'll stay, I think he wants to. But I think the Club is making it hard for him. The last few weeks have been horrible. He's the one player we've got who could go anywhere, earn top money and win things. He can more or less take his pick I'd imagine. If we were half competitive I think we could keep him but as it stands we look so weak that he'd be a bit of a mug to stay. I think he'll decide in the summer when he sees what kind of ambition we show. Then he'll leave.

[Steve007]

I've been convinced he'll stay, I think he wants to. But I think the Club is making it hard for him. The last few weeks have been horrible. He's the one player we've got who could go anywhere, earn top money and win things. He can more or less take his pick I'd imagine. If we were half competitive I think we could keep him but as it stands we look so weak that he'd be a bit of a mug to stay. I think he'll decide in the summer when he sees what kind of ambition we show. Then he'll leave.

Now are his peak years. If he stays with us he'll win fuck all. If he goes to a Real Madrid or Barcelona he'll win all sorts & become a global superstar.

Tough choice.

[wev]

So when given the absolute perfect chance to give this group of players a kick up the arse, Wenger decides to blame yesterday on fixture congestion and a penalty decision that could have gone either way.

Can someone put some Bingo cards on the seats at the Emirates please?

[Jonathan_Kerr]

Honestly, if RVP doesn't stay with us for another year (yes, I know that it's best to sell him while we can get good bucks for him), I'll be more aggrieved than understanding. We've been patient with him while he's been made of glass for the last 5 or 6 years -- I think it's fair to ask him to stay for one more year.

That said, rather than a whole bunch of new signings next season, I'd rather have much better luck with our injuries. Our team is phenomenal when we can actually pick it.

[Daley]

A decent read and asks a question I have been wondering myself recently.

what does Arsenal exist to do?

http://www.arse2mous...ost/17878181283

Make money? Win trophies? Develop players and sell them? Wenger's pet project?

What are we actually trying to do? After being told (again) that 4th is a trophy, I do wonder.

[The Fox]

...I think our first XI is pretty decent and on paper, for me, only second to Man City)

I don't think it's as good as Man Utd's or Spuds' personally. Even with Wilshere fit there is a big problem with creativity from midfield, and left-back is a weak spot. Jack excelled last season playing deeper in more or less the position Arteta is in currently. We really have no idea how well he'd do further forward in Ramsey's spot. Better than Ramsey? Probably. Better than Fabregas? No chance. And it's not like we were pulling up any trees even with Fabregas.

I don't know why everyone is so convinced RVP will leave.

Totti never did.

I've been thinking lately "Hey where's carlito? He never posts in here any more. I'd like to see his take on things", and then this is the post you hit me with. You've disappointed me, man.

Come on, you know how daft this sounds? Yeah RVP likes Arsenal and yeah he had a shirt and poster as a kid, but that's hardly the same level of affinity as hometown-boy-brought-through-the-youth-ranks-worshipped-as-a-god-by-the-red-half-of-the-city Francesco Totti. It's not even remotely close.

[carlito]

I used Totti as an example, could have used Le Tissier or whoever. Is it so hard to believe that a player could choose loyalty over the possibility of winning/earning more?

I am just saying RVP loves Arsenal, we've carried him through season after season of injury, he's captain of the club and I don't think we should take for granted that he'll leave after his first full season without injury.

The situation is entirely different to Nasri and Fabregas who had loyalties elsewhere.

[Daley]

I really really want to believe you but I will be amazed if RvP is still at Arsenal next year.

If he does leave we should definitely make Almunia/Squilaci co-captains. There can be no more certain sign of imminent departure than being made captain.

If RvP does leave he will join Vieria, Henry, Cesc as being captain and being sold.

There is no real reason to be at Arsenal these days. You can earn more and have a better chance of trophies at any number of clubs.

[carlito]

I am not saying that because I think it's definitely going to happen. I just can't understand why people would make a difficult period all the more unpleasant by taking speculative situations as fact.

Maybe he just wants to captain the side to better times. Maybe he likes living in London. Who knows - but his departure is far from set in stone.

[Daley]

We shall see. Don't get me wrong, I would love for you to be right. I am just going on recent summers, which for Arsenal fans have been marginally worse than the actual football seasons.

[Art Vandelay]

Le Tissier is again totally different as he probably quite enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond at the club he supported. As he was basically the only reason they ever stayed up they also turned a blind eye to the fact that he was horribly unfit, something that bigger clubs with loftier ambitions wouldn't have put up with.

If everyone were to just accept that footballers have no real loyalty to clubs anymore then life gets much easier. Van Persie is amongst very few who'll stay with a club for a number of years, but the vast majority won't and will clear off at the drop of a hat. I'm not saying he'll relish the chance to get away, but when you have realistically five years left at the top level, maximum, why piss them away at Arsenal? I don't think he'll sign another deal before his expires, in which case we can either sell him now or spend a year trying to convince him to stay. Would you put any money on us winning anything next season? I know I wouldn't.

[The Fox]

I don't think there's any chance whatsoever of Van Persie staying unless he signs a new deal in the summer. The club won't risk losing him for nothing.

I think we'll see quite a bit of churn again this summer. Obviously we'll be looking to find permanent new homes for the long-term loanees like Bendtner, Denilson and Vela. If that can't happen then I'd imagine they will go out on loan again. Hopefully we can free them from the wage bill completely and they can move on with their careers.

The same thing applies to Park, Chamakh and Squillaci, and probably Arshavin as well. Things haven't worked out for them, they can't be happy with their situations, and I think it would be best for all concerned if they moved on.

The main question marks are of course RVP and Walcott. RVP will probably be out of our hands to an extent. This next contract is going to be the last big one of his career, so it depends what he wants. Can the club convince him that they have genuine ambitions to win things? Given their conduct in the last couple of years it will be a very tough sell, even for someone like Gazidis. Will they break the wage structure to offer him a pay packet in the right ballpark? Who knows. I know we can't do £200k a week for five years, so if that's all he wants then he'll be off to City or Madrid. But I'm not sure that's what he's really after. He's no Nasri or Cashley. If the club can demonstrate they have lofty ambitions on the pitch and no just on the balance sheets, he might stay. If not, I wouldn't blame him at all for going elsewhere.

On the flipside, will Arsene look at Robin's age and think "If I can get £35m for him at 29 years old, I'll take it"? And if that money was all guaranteed to go straight back into the squad, would it be so mental? (Personal opinion: when we're already very light in attack then yes, IMO it'd be mental no matter who came instead. Just throwing it out there as an alternative scenario.)

[Cue RVP to Madrid for €40m and Benike Afobe replacing him, while all the income goes into Stan's big Scrooge McDuck money pit...]

As for Theo, the club has a big decision to make with him. He has blown hot and cold for a long time now, and we've probably seen more cold this season than hot. If rumours are to be believed he's looking for £100k a week, and despite some good performances now and again (Udinese, Chelsea away, Blackburn at home), it's hard to argue that he's played like someone who deserves that kind of pay packet. So what do we do? Chamberlain has come on quickly and, let's be honest, is almost certainly going to be a much better player than Walcott eventually. Gervinho should improve next season too.

Personally I think we've seen enough of Theo now to realise he's not going to set the world alight for Arsenal. He has undeniable strengths but he hasn't improved sufficiently on a technical level, and seeing as we don't play to his natural strengths, I don't think he's ever going to do the business for us on a regular basis. I would say thanks but no thanks to his salary demands, and sell him to the highest bidder. I'm sure he'll do well with a side who hit him early and give him space to run into, or maybe one that sticks him up top in a 4-4-2. But we've seen first hand the problems that can be caused by not implementing a meritocracy to your wage bill. Let's learn from that and not pay a vastly increased wage to a highly inconsistent performer with an inflated opinion of himself.

Yet again, any acquisitions are likely to depend on the fate of the big name will-he-won't-he departures. Let's just hope things don't drag on like the last couple of summers. If RVP isn't going to sign a new deal then for the love of God, transfer list him by the middle of June at the latest. Ditto Walcott.

[Steve007]

Honestly, if RVP doesn't stay with us for another year (yes, I know that it's best to sell him while we can get good bucks for him), I'll be more aggrieved than understanding. We've been patient with him while he's been made of glass for the last 5 or 6 years -- I think it's fair to ask him to stay for one more year.

Arsenal are run as a business, not as a football club. Therefore the board will all have massive erections when big clubs come swooping for him in the summer. The actual kick in the bollocks will be when the club doesn't spend the money we get for him.

Anyway, RvP would have to be mental to stay at Arsenal. The sheer amount of money & success he can achieve elsewhere doesn't make staying at Arsenal an option. There's very little loyalty in football and despite him claiming he's so happy at Arsenal, it doesn't really wash with me. Any decent player wants top money & trophies.

We've allegedly had a transfer budget of £40m for the last 3 or 4 years that's hardly been touched. Then add the money we got for Cesc + Nasri and what we might get for RvP, the club must be sitting on a fortune unless they've used it all to pay off debts. But when it comes to spending money I wouldn't trust Wenger with a £5 note never mind the cash needed for a rebuilding job.

What I'd like to see is Silent Stan installing Mourinho as manager and giving him a good budget. I just want to win so I'd take a dozen or so boring 1-0 results. Points win prizes, right?

[Daley]

We actually spent pretty much all the money from Cesc, Nasri and Clichy last summer I think, with a little left of course. There was the Ox, Gervinho, Arteta, Mertesacker and few others. But as is the Arsenal way, we didn't actually spend any of our "own" money. All the season ticket, CL/PL prize money must have gone on wages and stadium repayments.

The Mourinho is boring thing is a bit of a myth. There is a difference between "parking the bus" and having a good defence. His Chelsea team won their first title with style and second slightly less so as Robben and Duff got injured/left. People remember Inter grinding out a 1-0 defeat at the Nou Camp but forget they tore Barca apart in the first leg. And Real currently score about 8 a game with Ronaldo getting most of them. His football is not boring.

The reason he won't come here is he likes to spend money. Inter are still recovering from his splurge. But they have that glorious treble to keep them warm at night.

[Steve007]

What I like about Mourinho is his tactics. If he has to park the bus to win a game he'll do it, if he has to play a certain formation to win a game, he'll do it. If a player is having a crap game, he'll drag him off after 30 mins. If he needs to change formation for a match or even during a match, he'll do it. He also likes to leave two men up when defending a corner, this means the attacking team needs to leave 2-3 players back - he's very clever. Plus he doesn't care who he upsets, he just does his job. Players had respect for him and you can see why.

Wenger has been excellent for Arsenal but that's in the past. Wenger is about as tactically astute as Mike Bassett. In years gone by he got away with his lack of tactical knowledge as we had 3 or 4 players who could conjure up goals from nothing but now Wenger has been found out to be rather quite ordinary.

Such is the lack of leadership at the club I think Wenger is as safe as houses. However, Silent Stan went to a lot of effort & expense acquiring his shares, surely he will want to protect his investment if nothing else? Action has to be taken at the end of the season. There's no point doing anything now as the damage is done.

[Steve007]

Can anyone imagine Wenger behaving like this?

[redbloodcell]

The reason he won't come here is he likes to spend money. Inter are still recovering from his splurge. But they have that glorious treble to keep them warm at night.

There's an interesting article on the Guardian website about Inter's downfall actually if you're interested Here. Also this one that's linked within.

[carlito]

Mourinho did not win his first title with style at all. I remember being appalled at the way Chelsea played given their embarrassment of riches. Rarely has a "4-3-3" gone so far to piss on it's wonderful attacking roots.