Arsenal

[Silent Runner]

Due to Spain's lolworthy tax laws he has doubled his post-tax pay despite just going from £55k to £70k.

I wonder how long that will last. I read an article recently about some German politicians getting (justifiably) pissed off with German tax-payers subsidising the wages of Ronaldo, Messi and co.

[Daley]

Shame Darren Dein has chosen to behave like this as his dad done good things at Arsenal.

http://www.telegraph...nt-insists.html

However this has provoked an angry reaction from those in the Song camp, who hotly denied the suggestions. “Alex Song was massively committed to Arsenal, he loved the club and was dying to sign a new contract,” Song's representative told Telegraph Sport.

“We tried six times to renegotiate his contract. They kept saying it has three years to run.

"They’d say things like ‘we’ll sit down in September, October,’ when at first they’d said it would happen in the summer.

“He was one of the worst paid at the club,” said the source. “He was on about £55,000 a week and his performances deserved a pay rise. He became dissatisfied and upset. You can work out what’s going on there — the same’s happened with Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri.”

Sure the fact that Song was paid the same as Denilson and Bendtner seems a bit out of whack. But they are earning too much! I don't think Song should be on £100k a week. Greedy fuckers the lot of them. Seriously, I am badly falling out of love with football. Someone on £55k a week demaning a pay rise? It's fucking vulgar.

[Rocafella]

It's all relative though isn't it. This was always going to happen with our wage structure. The best players are paid too little, while the shit players are paid too much. What inevitably happens is the best players leave, while you struggle to sell the shit ones because few clubs are willing to match their wages. It's blown up badly.

I don't think Song is as bad as is being made out. He got 11 assists in the league last season, some of them fantastic ones too. Of course he has his limitations, but who doesn't. This means we're only one Diaby injury away from having Ramsey in the first 11, which would be a big worry.

[The Fox]

Fuck that, Dein shouldn't have had him sign a five year deal on £55k a week and then started pushing for a new contract five minutes later. That's just shit agenting.

Anyway Rennes' president has apparently confirmed they have received three firm bids for Yann M'Vila, from Zenit, Spuds, and Arsenal. When our bid was made though I don't know. He also said they still want €20m for him.

The player apparently isn't interested in moving to Russia, but both AW and AVB have publicly ended interest in him. I can't see anyone paying €20m for him when he keeps acting like a mentalist off the pitch (been arrested three times in two years), so I think this will either be a deadline day move somewhere, or he'll stay at Rennes (even though they've already signed Makoun to replace him).

Edit: Ramsey a worry? Fuck that. I thought he did really well until Christmas last season, especially given the circumstances. He was asked to be a No10 when really he's more of a shuttler. He was pooped by the new year but we had to keep playing him in the absence of Diaby and Wilshere and with Rosicky, at the time, just as out of form

[The Fox]

This seems legit:

[Dude Ranch]

Not sure what to make of the Song exit. Been suggested he's a bad egg and I can buy that but three years left and us not exactly making a mint on a 24 year old regular feels a bit off. Looks like Arsene was well happy to sell him but we need to buy someone absolutely quality now. Having said that, Arsene doesn't like to 'kill' other players who could fill the void so the proposed loan signing might be all we're looking to do. I do hate loans though, I really hate them.

Anyway, can't really see Song tearing it up at Barca but maybe he will. Their doctor said he had really low body fat and really good muscles. No mention of the hair, strangely.

I really want Wilshere back now, I think introducing him reasonably slowly and then letting him form a tight three with Arteta and Cazola sounds fucking horny.

EDIT per last post: Sahin ain't ugly either. We should be able to swoon most teams to death.

[Lucky]

Football must have actually gone completely mental; a few years ago you would never in a million years have believed that Alex Song could move to the best team there has maybe ever been.

All said, if we bring in one of the players mentioned it could turn out to be a good bit of business on our part.

Wish him well I suppose, even though I'd rather all these unsavoury comments, coming out of both camps really, were just left alone.

As for that cunt, just seen him arriving at Goodison in his Utd suit. I never want a player to get hurt, but if/when he picks up an injury of some sort, one of those pulled muscles that takes a few months to go away, I will laugh my fuckin' head off.

[The Fox]

Not sure what to make of the Song exit. Been suggested he's a bad egg and I can buy that but three years left and us not exactly making a mint on a 24 year old regular feels a bit off.

I know the fee was maybe a bit lower than you might expect for a player of Song's experience, but if we're talking "making a mint", we got a fucking huge return on our £400k expenditure.

[Dude Ranch]

The selling needs to stop now, this has to be the end of it. The list of players out the door recently is shameful. We're not a selling Club per the accepted definition. But we just can't retain our talent. Things need to tighten up pronto.

[The Fox]

EDIT per last post: Sahin ain't ugly either. We should be able to swoon most teams to death.

The selling needs to stop now, this has to be the end of it. The list of players out the door recently is shameful. We're not a selling Club per the accepted definition. But we just can't retain our talent. Things need to tighten up pronto.

What do you propose we do? We are a club that tries to operate within its means and doesn't want to risk its long-term safety by spending way, way more than it makes. We are also a club with a proven track record for turning bargain buys into very good footballers. When oil-rich clubs (or daft debt-ridden clubs wanting to make a misguided statement) are willing to pay players in excess of £200k a week, or fork out £60m+ for a 29-year-old with a questionable injury record, I don't think there's much we can do about that.

Arsenal tries to exist in a sensible economy but is being left behind by clubs who aren't interested in that. the problem for those clubs is that we've seen with Malaga what can happen if the owners lose interest. Chelsea, Man City and PSG are not business investments, they're vanity projects.

I think so far we've bought very well, and if another 1-2 join Sahin, we probably have a better squad than last year (assuming our new strikers don't turn to absolute shite).

[Dude Ranch]

What do you propose we do?

Not sell our best players, specifically don't let them run down their contracts like Nasri and RvP. They still might want out but we don't need to make it so easy.

We are a club that tries to operate within its means and doesn't want to risk its long-term safety by spending way, way more than it makes.

I admire that about us but what I mean is that we don't really need to sell to buy sensibly. We get forced into selling, mostly, and not cos we need the cash. Obv. wages come into play but we shouldn't have star names with a year to run on their contract. Walcott is the same although not in the same class. He can demand a bigger salary simply because he knows we might be forced to sell him for less then we'd like.

I think so far we've bought very well

I agree, Cazorla being especially exciting.

[Rev]

Until the rules change in a meaningful way, there's nothing that can be done as the players and agents have all the bartering chips when there are richer teams around. Teams with more money get better players and as long as they're managed at least reasonably, they win the prizes. Shrug.

[Petrousgyre]

I never want a player to get hurt, but if/when he picks up an injury of some sort, one of those pulled muscles that takes a few months to go away, I will laugh my fuckin' head off.

A precise philosophical distinction.

I don't want him to get injured. I'd much rather that it just didn't work out for him, that Fergusons mental all attack, almost no midfield thing gets figured out by other Premiership sides, his confidence goes and he ends the season starting from the bench.

[The Fox]

I admire that about us but what I mean is that we don't really need to sell to buy sensibly. We get forced into selling, mostly, and not cos we need the cash. Obv. wages come into play but we shouldn't have star names with a year to run on their contract. Walcott is the same although not in the same class. He can demand a bigger salary simply because he knows we might be forced to sell him for less then we'd like.

But how do you propose we deal with that? The only recent situation I can see that could easily have been avoided was Nasri. Song, Clichy and Cesc didn't have a year left. Van Persie did, but we wouldn't have offered him a massive new deal 3 or 4 years ago because he was perennially crippled. Then when he managed to finally stay fit for most of the season in 2010/11, we tried to start negotiations only for him to stall.

With Walcott, you get the impression that the club haven't been too fussed about renegotiating because he's apparently after a lot of money, but his performances haven't been consistent enough to warrant it. I think if we'd had a good offer for him at the start of the summer we might well have flogged him.

The problem is we wait on these players to show some consistent form and fitness before we offer them big new deals (which is exactly what people say they want the club to do in order to avoid Diaby/Denilson situations), then they finally have a good spell, attract headlines and attention, and bugger off somewhere else.

You can just imagine Diaby staying fit, having a barnstorming six months, fucking off to PSG, and everyone going "OMG WE CAN'T KEEP LETTING PLAYERS RUN THEIR CONTRACTS DOWN", twelve months after going "OMG WE CAN'T KEEP OFFERING LONG TERM DEALS TO UNPROVEN PLAYERS"

[hercules]

I think the press are blowing alot of this out of proportion. RVP saw the chance to play for a team willing to throw money here, there, everywhere in the persuit of trophies. Something Arsenal will not do. We work within our means which is admirable and i personally hope it continues. In my opinion we have spent well this summer, Cazorla especially looks like the missing piece to our jigsaw. Getting 15mil for Song is fantastic business! RVP left to get 220k a week, we could never offer that and nor would i want us to.

The press have labelled us a one man team for years yet forget that when we are losing all of these "world class" players that actually all played together in this so called one man team. It's bollocks. We didnt win anything with them so now wenger is going another route and seems pretty happy to dismantle the so called "project youth" just look at our recent signings over the past year and you will see we have bought bundles of experience. I'm confident of a change in the tides and think we might just suprise a few people.

[The Fox]

So sad to see Robin do absolutely shit all when he came off the bench. "MAN UTD WERE PLUNGED INTO CRISIS LAST NIGHT"

[Rev]

Yup, cracking stuff. Not only have they let him carry on his stupid obsession with taking corners, they messed up his one decent bit of play and they didn't manage to give him a single chance. And he responded by looking completely uninterested, if a bit disinterested.

See you all here for Song's Barce debut?

[gizmo1990]

What an absolutely delicious score. Bwhaha!

[exwhyzed]

hopefully we kept the receipt

[toythatkills]

Tomorrow's Sun.

The transfer of Alex Song to Barcelona was completed yesterday and plunged Arsenal DEEPER into crisis.

The move comes hot on the heels of Robin van Persie's exit to Man Utd.

The Dutchman scored 37 goals for the gunners last season, and so far this season has netted as many goals as the entire Arsenal team PUT TOGETHER.

etc.

[hercules]

Good result last night, especially nice as it meant that belled lost on his debut. Funnily enough I was saying to a mate from work yesterday how much I'd like fellaini. He is a beast.

[Dude Ranch]

Van Persie did, but we wouldn't have offered him a massive new deal 3 or 4 years ago because he was perennially crippled.

We kept him for 8 years mate and when he had his best season we didn't have him tied him to a deal. You can't tell me that before last season started the thinking was that we might ditch him. The assumption was that he'd stay if we wanted him to.

[The Fox]

In other news, the gossip today is that the Nuri Sahin deal still hasn't been finalised, as Arsenal are insisting on an option to buy at the end of the season but Madrid don't want to offer it. I suspect Liverpool would take him without that option, but the player doesn't seem interested in going there.

[hercules]

Mourinho will always make it hard for us as he dislikes wenger. I'm hoping the deal get wrapped up soon. He is a quality little player so would prefer to have the option to buy at the end.

[Daley]

I am not a big fan of the loan system anyway. It's bizzare if you ask me. So taking a proven international on loan, with no commitment to buy at the end, is shit. If it goes well then the loan has been either one giant advert for Sahin to enable Madrid to sell him for more to us or elsewhere or we have just helped them develop a player which they can now take back and slot into their first team. I hate the loan system and i'd scrap it.

[Guest]

Looks like wily Wenger sold RVP just as he continues his euro form. Good business!

[Pavey]

[gizmo1990]

Sounds like Madrid want their cake for munchies too with the Sahin deal. Send him over to Arsenal where he will likely benifit from AW's tutelage and playing in the squad, then get a better player back in a year. Hope Arsene stick to his guns, it looks like the player wants to come at least.

[hercules]

But if we get the option to buy at a decent price written into the contract then it is a good deal for us. As if he plays shit we don't sign him and if he is great then we have the fixed price.

[The Fox]

Do we really need the option to buy though? I mean sure, it'd be nice, and I'd prefer it if we weren't being used as a finishing school, but ultimately even without a purchase option it still seems beneficial to all parties. I think if there weren't big question marks over the fitness of Diaby and Wilshere, we wouldn't be looking at him at all.