Arsenal

[V3zna]

Alright, I'll bite...

Are you boys seriously comparing Denilson with Alonso?

It is interesting though as someone impartial looking at the stats like the ones posted would think Denilson is a superior player to Alonso.

[Mars]

And if anyone will use stats combined with potential improvement, it's le boss...

[redbloodcell]

Hello peeps, anyone able to shed some light on a youngster of yours called Anton Blackwood? Well, I say of yours, but he's now of ours

[Commander Jameson]

No. The stats are an interesting read because Denilson comes off quite well when clearly he is not fit to lace Alonso's boots.

The stats were interesting Dude, might as well talk about that before The Summer begins.

Phew. I thought you'd gone mental for a second.

But you're right; the stats do show a different picture. It would be difficult to quantify "control" of a game though.

[Mars]

Hello peeps, anyone able to shed some light on a youngster of yours called Anton Blackwood? Well, I say of yours, but he's now of ours

Obviously shit

[g wings]

Barcelona are preparing a £50m bid for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas but could face competition from Chelsea and Real Madrid. (Daily Star)

And so it starts again...

So, now that Barry is on his way City (along with every other footballer that has made the vaguest look at the exit door of their club), who would we like to sign? More importantly, who do we actually think we have a chance of signing?

[carlito]

And so it starts again...

So, now that Barry is on his way City (along with every other footballer that has made the vaguest look at the exit door of their club), who would we like to sign? More importantly, who do we actually think we have a chance of signing?

I was really surprised at the Barry transfer. I don't think it augers well for Villa, and I suspect we won't be seeing them pushing us as they did last season. There is no doubt that O'Neill is a great man manager, but I really don't think he has done too well in bringing in the players to take Villa to the next level, especially considering the money he has at his disposal. Ashley Young aside, he seems to plump for mediocrity - Heskey, Knight, Shorey, Sidwell, Salifou (who can't have played more than 30 minutes), Cuellar and even his better signings are not exactly earth shattering - Reo Coker, Petrov (who did have a very good season in fairness) and Davies. Fair enough the Baros/Carew swap deal was good, but it was a bit of a no-brainer.

I think that Villa might well on their way down the league table next season.

I feel we will always be more in competition with the two or three teams below us than Liverpool, Chelsea and Man U because of the nature of the football we play - we can't grind like those three, if our passing football in attack doesn't come off I rarely feel that we are going to keep it solid at the back. I will be watching who comes and goes from Everton, Man City and Tottenham with a pretty keen interest. I know Fulham were up there, but I can't see Fayed stumping up the cash to fund the transition.

If Everton can pick up a really good striker and maybe another creative player in the midfield I will be worried.

Barry will definitely add a bit of composure to Man City's current collapsible midfield. I think with De Jong and Barry they will have a real solid core to build around, a few more astute signings and they could be a threat and let's not forget they already have some pretty decent players dotted around the park.

Tottenham are Tottenham. Whoever they fucking sign you just can't tell how they are going to perform once the season starts.

[Lucky]

3rd kit??

[BlinkyBear]

3rd kit??

I've seen this floating about for a while now and I'm still not convinced it's real. No idea why as the styling fits exactly with the new away kit, but I didn't know we were in need of another 3rd kit.

Plus if it's real all the 'die-hards' will go fucking spare.

A blue and a white kit? Them's be Spuds colours.

[redbloodcell]

All the logos seem out of place to my eyes, the 'Fly Emirates' especially looks flat and stuck on.

Plus, y'know, get your own colours you Woolwich interlopers

[Throbin Hood]

All the logos seem out of place to my eyes, the 'Fly Emirates' especially looks flat and stuck on.

Plus, y'know, get your own colours you Woolwich interlopers

Nowt wrong with Woolwich, Dial Square is still there, albeit covered in concrete and weeds the last time I saw it.

[Steve007]

who do we actually think we have a chance of signing?

When our rivals are prepared to pay players like Barry £100k a week, we are just going to be left with the scraps. Barry would have done a very good job for us, but we can't compete with other clubs when they are prepared to offer deals like that.

We will have to hope Wenger has a few quality unknowns earmarked. Lets face it, we can forget about any proven established players coming to our club - it's not going to happen. Our biggest challenge is going to be trying to keep hold of the few experienced quality players we do have! I fear van Persie is going to be a cunt and leave for nothing unless they get him signed up this summer.

[carlito]

I fear van Persie is going to be a cunt and leave for nothing unless they get him signed up this summer.

I am not enjoying him stalling on his contract at all. I feel, maybe I hope, that he is waiting for signs of intent from Wenger in the transfer market before committing to a new contract. I would have thought between his numerous injuries and the love he gets from the fans, he would give us the benefit of the doubt.

I am not in any doubt that in spite of all this "we are a team" spiel that it must be very frustrating if you are top class striker grafting for an hour to break down sides that put ten men behind the ball at the Emirates and finally getting a goal only to see all your efforts go to waste because basic, basic errors at the back have lead to a cheap equaliser. I am sure he gets exactly the same sick feeling in his stomach at every single set piece we have to defend and the same terror when he see an opposition player charge towards our box without the slightest bit of pressure from us.

Maybe there is a little part of his brain that thinks "It doesn't have to be like this".

Anyway I still hope that van Persie feels that his future is with us. That said I thought being pretty much Premiership midfield player of the season and, as a team, producing some of the best football in the world would be enough for Flamini to stay, but it wasn't.

[toythatkills]

When our rivals are prepared to pay players like Barry £100k a week, we are just going to be left with the scraps. Barry would have done a very good job for us, but we can't compete with other clubs when they are prepared to offer deals like that.

We can offer Champion's League football (well, partially). Surely not all players are cunts like Barry, surely some are in it for the football?

[Steve007]

Anyway I still hope that van Persie feels that his future is with us. That said I thought being pretty much Premiership midfield player of the season and, as a team, producing some of the best football in the world would be enough for Flamini to stay, but it wasn't.

Money speaks though. Barcelona are meant to be interested. If he signs for us he'll be on around £65k-£90k a week. If he leaves on a free, he will pocket a multi-million pound signing on fee spread out over the duration of his contract and he could expect wages of at least £75k a week.

He might love Arsenal, but if he could go and get £125k a week elsewhere, I think he'll be off.

[Mars]

This 50% tax situation in the UK might see a few player's heads turned by offers from abroad as well.

[carlito]

Money speaks though. Barcelona are meant to be interested. If he signs for us he'll be on around £65k-£90k a week. If he leaves on a free, he will pocket a multi-million pound signing on fee spread out over the duration of his contract and he could expect wages of at least £75k a week.

He might love Arsenal, but if he could go and get £125k a week elsewhere, I think he'll be off.

This 50% tax situation in the UK might see a few player's heads turned by offers from abroad as well.

I can't see him going to Barca, searing pace seems to be a prerequisite of all their forwards and that's one thing he hasn't got. I am certain that he would have no shortage of suitors if it became apparent that he was available though.

The money situation is an interesting one. Pretty much every player in the top four earns each week what a fairly successful professional would earn in a year. A single five year contract has you pretty much sorted for life even at the lower end of the spectrum. Surely there must come a point when players recognise that getting more money is simply stacking excess onto excess and make their decision based on other factors like enjoying the football.

I think Berbatov said to his agent that he didn't even want to read the faxed offer from Man City and that he would accept United's offer even it was £1000 a week because that's all he needed to live on. How much this is exaggerated I don't know, but he surely can't be the only one to think like this.

van Persie's parent's are artists aren't they? Surely they have bred motivations beyond financial rewards into him. You don't walk into a new club and get the love he gets at the Grove, that really is something that money can't buy.

Flamini I could just about understand, inspite of his stunning last season, he had been marginalised in the squad for the previous three only getting any type of run in the side as a makeshift leftback which we now know is far from his best position. Add that to the fact that he apparently a Milan fan, he was given an opportunity to move to a club that's closer to his heart than Arsenal and make the kind of money that would have been unthinkable the season before.

The situation is not the same with RVP and I will be pretty disappointed in him if he makes a similar move.

[Rev]

I think Berbatov said to his agent that he didn't even want to read the faxed offer from Man City and that he would accept United's offer even it was £1000 a week because that's all he needed to live on. How much this is exaggerated I don't know,

By about 99k, probably.

[carlito]

By the way, the Arsenal season stats are up on the website. Here.

This allows us to calculate the all important offsides/minutes played ratios for our strikers, and I can tell you it's been a close run thing.

Arshavin - 997 minutes - 3 offsides - 332 minutes per offside

Bendtner - 1758 minutes - 7 offsides - 251 minutes per offside

van Persie - 2213 minutes - 11 offsides - 201 minutes per offside

but clinching it this year by the skin of his teeth:

Adebayor - 1906 minutes - 43 offsides - 44 minutes per offside

Good job Ade you fucking lazy dosser you were offside more than twice as many times as everyone else added together.

[Rev]

That is amazing...

[toythatkills]

Good job Ade you fucking lazy dosser you were offside more than twice as many times as everyone else added together.

In half as many minutes

[phresh]

What makes it funnier (or worse if you’re an Arsenal fan) is that it’s not like some players where there are a lot of 50/50’s that could easily have gone the other way, he is nearly always a yard or two offside. I’m sure there was a moment in the CL Semi where he got caught offside despite the player crossing the ball being only a few yards form the byline.

Really should have cashed in on him last year. Hindsight etc etc.

[Rev]

Perhaps the FA will be kind next season and expand the "not affecting play" to "Arsenal strikers who disappear to the left wing are not affecting play". He might get down to one every 75 minutes or so then.

Do the same stats exist for last season anywhere?

[carlito]

Really should have cashed in on him last year. Hindsight etc etc.

Nah. I think losing Flamini, Hleb and Adebayor would have meant losing basically our three best performing players from the previous season and would have rocked the boat too much irrespective of the money we could have made. The damage to the percieved strength and status of the club would not have been worth it.

[phresh]

But the 30 million you sold him for could have bough any one of a number of decent strikers. Instead he's know worth 15 and you'll struggle to get any decent striker for that much.

[carlito]

But the 30 million you sold him for could have bough any one of a number of decent strikers. Instead he's know worth 15 and you'll struggle to get any decent striker for that much.

15 mio bought us Arshavin.

[Throbin Hood]

15 mio bought us Arshavin.

After 2^1/2 years of haggling. I don't want to go through that again

[phresh]

A striker to replace Adebayor is what I meant.

[Rev]

Thomas Vermaelen then? Almost certainly not a done deal, but it's making nice noises:

http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/Footbal...fee/gnid-56120/

Would be a good signing in my eyes...

[Daley]

Thomas Vermaelen then? Almost certainly not a done deal, but it's making nice noises:

http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/Footbal...fee/gnid-56120/

Would be a good signing in my eyes...

Yea this one keeps coming up so I would almost be suprised if there wasn't some truth to it but I won't be getting too excited. Don't know how good he is and even if we do sign him there is probably 3 months of negotiations first.