Season Preview Q&A

By: Homey | August 10th, 2011

Well folks, it’s about that time again. Time for some real action that actually counts. I’m not sure if the team is completely settled and ready, but hopefully we’ll do enough to get past Newcastle and Udinese while things are getting sorted out. Anyway, here are some questions I posed to the blogging team, with answers from three of us. I think Brenton is out of pocket at the moment, and I wouldn’t be able to post his answers until Thursday evening due to my work, and by then we’ll need to preview Newcastle… Anyway, sorry for any logistical issues. He’ll probably post his thoughts as a comment below.
[NOTE: These answers were written at various times over the last couple of days. Obviously, the Cesc-Barca stuff is heating up again, and of course we're keeping up with it. But some of these answers were written before the most recent reports.]

1) Where you see Arsenal finishing in the table this year, and who do you have winning the league?
JG: 1a. Frankly, the lack of any real resolution to our team woes this summer has it looking more likely that we won’t win the EPL this season. Now, it’s still possible that, just like in 09-10, we’ll make an unannounced title challenge and be in the running by January, but we all know what’s going to happen after that: we’ll get a couple of injuries to our key players, Wenger will refuse to invest in January, we’ll collapse by mid-spring, lather, rinse, repeat. IF we can add some necessary reinforcements and some changes to our defensive play, and there’s still time for that, then I can say we might have a shot. But if not, then I think we’re going to struggle to be in the CL spots, now that there’s a Big Six involved. I say we finish 4th yet again.
1b. So, so many contenders. The Big Six, on their day, can all realistically push for the title- the question is, which one of them can go above and beyond and win it? Because of their depth, I think United, Chelsea, and City will be nearer to the top than Arsenal (thin squad, mediocre second string), Liverpool (Average back 4 and midfield, still finding their feet after crashing down for the last 2 years), and Spurs (they’re Spurs, too many injuries). As for the other three, Chelsea are aging and having missed out on Pastore, have failed to bring a fresh face to their aging midfield (although Romeu and McEachran look promising). City are too conservative, considering the players they have at their disposal (plus, Clichy is their left back). That’s why, as much as I hate to say it, I think United are going to win it again this year. They found a suitable replacement for VdS with De Gea, they have a big number of really promising defenders (Smalling, Rafael, Fabio, Jones), that will probably render any defensive crisis moot, Nani/Rooney/Pea look to have even better seasons, and, more recently, are about to have a Wilshere-type breakout in Cleverley. If they keep playing in their usual ruthless style, then we’ll probably see United win #20 come May.
Homey: I think we’ll end up in 4th again, with the same three teams finishing ahead of us. I do think we’ll finish ahead of Liverpool and Spurs though, so I hope nobody thinks I’m the biggest pessimist out there. I still think our overall quality is better than that of Liverpool, and I’m expecting a big year from our attacking players like Gervinho, RvP, and Walcott. But I think we’ll be closer to 6th than 1st at the end.
As far as the league goes, I’m actually going to go with Man City here. At some point a team with that much money invested in it ought to win something, right? There are only two major worries for me – one is that their personalities will disrupt things (such as Tevez), and two is that they play too defensively and will have too many draws. Still, I like the Aguero signing, and their depth is great. And I think they have enough confidence now to believe they should win the title. I don’t know that Man Utd really got better since last season, with the retirements of a couple key players. And Chelsea has surprisingly done little this summer. Maybe they’ll make a couple late additions and really make a run this year.
Darren: It’s such a difficult question to answer at this stage because we don’t even know what our starting XI will be. If we keep Cesc and Nasri and add a defender, I could make an argument to challenge for the title. If no defender come in, Cesc and Nasri leave without being replaced I could see us being in a dog fight for 4-6 with Liverpool and Sp*rs.
As for winning the league, it’s hard to look past Manchester United. Chelsea need a creative midfielder to have the chance to win the league, and I don’t believe City are good enough yet.

2) Is this the year that we end our trophy drought?
JG: This is the year we damn well better end our trophy drought, but the chances of it are slim. I just don’t see us pushing for the title this year. Barring a lucky draw and a miracle, we’re likely to finish in the CL Round of 16 or Quarterfinals. So I think any realistic chance of us winning a trophy will come from the domestic cups. Last year we saw Wenger give greater importance to the cups and fielded stronger sides, which saw us make the Carling Cup final and the FA Cup quarterfinal. If he does the same, then, with the luck of the draw by our side, we CAN win either the Carling or the FA cup this season. We sure as hell need it.
Homey: Who’s writing these ridiculous questions anyway? Oh yeah, I am. Ha. Anyway, no I don’t think the trophy drought ends. We’re simply not good enough or deep enough to really make a run at this point. The best chance is to load up on the Carling Cup and try to really go after that one. In the FA Cup, we’d need a lot of luck in who we play and where we play them.
Darren: Depends, is Fabregas going to stick around, and do we get the defensive reinforcement we need?

3) What do you expect to see during the remainder of the summer transfer window?
JG: Well, the window ends at the end of the month, but the season starts this weekend. Oxencart-Chamberpot has signed, which will likely end our hunt for Joel Campbell and will give us more depth at the wings, especially now Ryozilla has been granted a work permit. I also (would like to) think that we’re going to sign one more center back, given how Bartley has been loaned out again, and Wenger must surely not think Squillaci will be a injury and suspension away from starting for us. So I think he will go out and sign a CB, likely at the very end of the window (probably Mertesacker). As for departures, I think either one of Cesc or Nasri will leave. It’s looking like it’s going to be Nasri, seeing as how Citah are going to come up with 28 million for him, which frankly I think is a fantastic price for a player who has only had one good half-season of football. As for Cesc, I think it’s clear that Pretentious Dou- err, I mean Barcelona only view him as a political buy and aren’t willing to meet a (conservative) market price, and their annoying media campaign has only made them look worse in the light of public opinion. So, whether he likes it or not, I think Cesc stays this season.
Homey: I think Bendtner, Nasri, and Eboue will be sold, and Almunia and Vela loaned out. I feel sure we’ll add another central defender, and right now I’d go with Mertesacker from what I’m reading. I’ll try to be as optimistic as possible here, and say that if we sell Nasri, we make a late charge to get Mata, and get that deal done. Oh, and we’ll probably get the Campbell deal completed too, but I doubt he’ll make much of an impact this season. So I’ll say three new arrivals, five departures, and Fabregas sticking around. Still, that will leave a big hole at left and right back, in my humble view. But I think we’ve gone over that issue before.
Darren: More rumours, Nasri sold, Fabregas sticks around and Jagielka comes in to help the defense. Yes, I can dream.

4) Is there a young player you expect to have a breakout season?
JG: If things go his way, I think Frimpong will have a good season this year. Think about it: Denilson is gone (for now). Lansbury seems closer to leaving than staying. Diaby has one dees game, and is then injured for the next 5 years. Wilshere and Ramsey have been gradually moving up the midfield, especially now that Cesc is likely to leave. That leaves Song and Frimpong as the other two guys for the DM position. Given how Song likes getting sent off and our general injury record with our midfielders (Wilshere right now is injured for who knows how long and Ramsey could pick up knocks here or there), it’s possible Frimpong will feature for a considerable amount of time this season. He’s been composed and decent during pre-season, so that automatically makes him better than Denilson. And Eastmond, for that matter.
Homey: I think it has to be Ramsey, doesn’t it? I think he has the desire and quality to make a step up. But he also should get the playing time as well. During the times that Song is out, I think Wenger will prefer Ramsey in the lineup over Frimpong. I wouldn’t say Ramsey is a true defensive midfielder in the Song mold, but it will be an effort to get our best players on the field. So with Ramsey being able to fill in at any of the central midfield positions, he’ll play a lot. I like his future with the club.
Darren: Aaron Ramsey is my pick.

5) On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your level of satisfaction with the way things are going at Arsenal right now, from top to bottom?
JG: Before Oxtail’s signing, I originally was thinking along the lines of 2-3. The club seemed out of touch, we were lacking in reinforcements, and it looked like we were going to lose Nasri and Cesc and only bring in Gervinho. But how things changed. Basically, I see Oxtail’s move as a sign of intent from the club, and that makes me very optimistic about us getting a new centerback soon. We might still lose Nasri or Cesc, but who knows, maybe Wenger WILL go out and get Mata as an adequate replacement. If these things happen, I’d be happier and would be rating the club at a 6-7.
Homey: Well I’ve certainly made my feelings known about that. I’ll go with a five here. I’m not happy with the manager and what’s he’s been doing, of course. However, if and when he does retire or get replaced, at least the club is in a strong position to move forward. Perhaps if we go another season without a title, that will happen next summer. I don’t think we’re miles away from the top, if we’d just spend wisely and aggressively in a few areas.
Darren: It’s such a vague question, but I’ll have to go with 6. Our starting XI even without Fabregas and Nasri is still very good, and the nice thing with young players is that they generally always get better with age. There is plenty of unrest in Arsenal World, but we need to remember we are still a very good club, and the additions this year have made us better already.

6) Who do you project as this year’s team MVP?
JG: IF he stays fit, Robin van Persie. The man proved to us in the second half of last season that when he’s fit, he’s probably the deadliest all-around forward in the EPL. If he can bang them in all season long, then I’ll feel much better about our chances. If not, other contenders include Gervinho, Wilshere, or Sagna.
Homey: I’m going to think positively about RvP and say he stays fit and produces this season. Even last year, you could argue he was our top player, despite the limited action he got. His form was simply terrific.
Darren: Robin Van Persie.

7) Who do you expect to be our biggest disappointment this season?
JG: Thomas Vermaelen. Look, I know he is our best defender and rightly has become a fan favorite among us Gunners. But take a look at the comments regarding TV5 last season- he was practically canonized by Arsenal fans. Which, considering Squillaci started a considerable number of games for us last season, was understandable. But he isn’t perfect, and I think we’re going to get kind of a rude awakening in that respect this season when he inevitably makes a mistake. He has hardly any experience with our current CB- he mostly played with Gallas or Sol in 09/10, and played with Koscielny for, like, 2 games before getting injured. So don’t expect Vermaelen to be Maldini or Lucio this season- he’s going to have hiccups, he’s probably going to have some trouble early on when playing with Kos/Djourou/Hopefully our incoming new CB, but at the very least he’ll be dees.
Homey: Well again, I would say Wenger, but I already stated that one at length. After all, the question didn’t say which player would be the biggest disappointment. Anyway, I’ll go with Cesc on this one. I think he sticks around, but has a combination of injuries and poor form (by his standards). He’ll still be a quality player, but not the real dynamic engine in midfield we want. And by next summer, I think he’ll finally be off to Barca.
Darren: Jack Wilshere and/or Theo Walcott. Jack because he had such a great first year, he will be hard-pressed to equal our expectations even with Fabregas around. Without Fabregas, more pressure will be on him, and that’s tough for a young teenager.
Theo because we finally have more pace in the squad with Gervinho and to a lesser impact, Ryo and Chamberlain. If we keep Nasri, Theo will be competing against Nasri, Gervinho, Arshavin, Ryo and Chamberlain for time, and he is already starting the season injured.

8 ) What will we be talking about next summer?
JG: “Holy crap! HOW did Arsenal manage to win the CL with 8 injuries to first-team players and Cesc Fabregas suspended? With a 2-0 victory over Barcelona, no less!”
In all seriousness, it will likely be “Can Wenger survive the summer?” “Why are people wondering if Wenger will survive the summer?” “Which centerback/left back/center midfielder/attacking midfielder/center back/forward will Arsenal sign?” “Will Cesc leave? Will Nasri leave? Will Pat Rice leave?”
Homey: Well I think the questions will remain about the same, but I think more people will be on the Homey train regarding Wenger at that point.
Darren: How Wenger finally brings us a trophy and how Homey needs to eat crow for doubting him.

And now finally, here is a composite table from the three of us, taken by averaging our predictions together:
1) Man Utd
2) Man City
3) Chelsea
4) Arsenal
5) Liverpool
6) Spurs
7) Everton
8 ) Sunderland
9) Fulham
10) Bolton
11) Stoke
12) Newcastle
13) Aston Villa
14) West Brom
15) tie – Wolves
15) tie – Blackburn
17) QPR
18) Swansea
19) Wigan
20) Norwich

Some Related Stories:

Category: Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, Preview, Samir Nasri, Transfer News and Player Movement

« Attention Stan Kroenke: Wenger Must Go | Home | Newcastle-Arsenal Preview »

brenton

Wenger: "Manchester United sold Ronaldo. Does that mean they are not a big club?"They didn't sell him for a cut-rate price.

Newcastle manages to get 35m pounds for Carroll and we're getting the same for Fabregas?
Chicago Gunner

The difference is that Carroll wasn't born in Liverpool, he wasn't a boyhood Liverpool fan, he didn't train in Liverpool's youth academy, he didn't win a world cup last year with 7 of Liverpool's players, he didn't try to orchestrate a move to Liverpool last season, Liverpool didn't win their league last year and Liverpool didn't win the Champions League last year... which is a long way of saying that Carroll didn't desire the move to Liverpool like Fabregas desires a move to Barca. Arsenal doesn't have the same leverage with Cesc that Newcastle did with Carroll because Carroll wasn't trying to push the move through, as Fabregas is. Arsenal wanted to keep Cesc and would have told Barca to fuck off, but couldn't, because of Fabregas' desire to go to Barca.
Chicago Gunner

I forgot to add that Carroll's fee was also inflated by the fact that he is an English player and Liverpool are an English team. English teams pay extra for English players, which is silly, but true. I'm not so sure Spanish teams pay similarly inflated transfer fees for Spanish players.
brenton

Tons of differences, I agree. Doesn't make it any easier to see those tranfer amounts. And it doesn't explain it away.
Chicago Gunner

I think that explains it perfectly. It just doesn't justify it.
Darren_V

Whether or not they sold or a cut-rate price or not is not the point.
brenton

It's part of my point.
brenton

Guillem Balague on Twitter: "About Mata: Valencia told me yesterday now they aren't selling Mata, that chance was there but the money never arrived."
Tfyoung

I don't give a flying f---! about all that shit. I don't care if we have eleven grannies out there, I'm dying for the new season. Come on The Arsenal!
Lio

The moment Fabregas and Nasri leave will be the demarcation point that marks the point when we changed from being a club with ambition to just a feeder club - I await it with eager anticipation because I want to see what Mr Arsenal Arsene Wenger does. My opinion is that he will either 1. Do absolutely nothing and sit on the money until it vanishes into thin air like the adebayor/toure money did or 2. Invest it in little schoolboys as he always does. He will fail next season regardless what he does - the football landscape has changed whether he recognises it or not and it really is quite simple - he who has the money wins the big prizes - Arsenal are very poor due to the board grabbing everything for themselves and will therefore win absolutely nothing - unless you consider 4th place a prize.
Lio

wenger cocked up big itme when he refused to deal with nasri mid season. if we put a contract infornt of him he woudl have signed. only when things went wrong after the carling cup nasri woke up to the rot. its poor management and its wnegers fualt entirely. he believed nasri would sign a contract just as he believed flamni would (even selling diarra for 5m!!). our inept manager made the same mistake again and he will allow a similar situation next year with van persie and walcott. wenger is a dummy and easily conned. we still have almunia on the books which is makes me feel numb. almunia is rubbish and no one wants to pay a fee for him, why cant we just relsease him from his contract and kick him on to the street? eboue the joker is still at the club. the only thing his good for his acting like an idiot for the amusement of the other players (im serious - thats why his at the club). why is it taboo to state the obvious. the current mess is all down to wnegers miss management. he made the mess and i dont trust him to clena it up - i back him to make it worse. it seems with wneger in charge we have to hit rock bottom before change is made. wenger should be sacked and someone else brought in to arrest the decline that wenger has started. what has wneger done that makes him so untouchable? 3 titles in 16 years i dont believe is good enough. especially when for the first 8 years he only had one rival, for the next 3 years after he had only two rivals. his a loser and contempt with not winning (he said it himself). his weak minded and scared of a fight. arrogant (without cause) and thinks his smarter than everyone else (your a dummy wenger). i just hope he doesnt do too much damage before 2014 hopefully sooner. but please god, please please please. wneger cannot sign another extension as that would kill the fans.
Martin

You probably need to check your facts on this. Wenger was perfectly willing to deal with Nasri during the season, just as he is always willing to deal with anyone during the season -- we have guys announce new contract extensions during the season all the time. Wenger announced that negotiations would happen over the summer after Nasri and his reps made it clear that they would not negotiate during the season.

As for the ad hominem attacks on Wenger . . . you're entitled to your own opinion, obviously, but I just find it shocking and sad that any Arsenal fan could feel this way after what he's done for the club.
Chicago Gunner

Martin, is it not possible that football, on both the business side and on the footballing side, has changed enough to render Wenger's philosophy antiquated or obsolete? If so, Wenger's past success probably shouldn't be considered in determining whether he is the right man to manage Arsenal now. And, of course, I'm sure you'll agree that if sentimality is the only reason to keep him, he should go.
Homey_Mills

Where was this kind of support when I needed it for my previous blog?
Chicago Gunner

I have to say that I think Wenger should go. I think he has a brilliant football mind and is excellent at discovering diamonds in the rough, but I don't think his philosophy is well-suited to winning titles. Under his philosophy, younger, less experienced and less expensive players are given significant roles in the team in reliance on their potential, instead of older, more experienced and more expensive players with established quality. The problem with this philosophy is that, inevitably, Arsenal will always have players who are given significant roles, but never realize the potential that Wenger used to justify in giving them significant roles. The more prudent approach, practiced by a majority of team sports around the world, I would imagine, is to develop younger players more slowly behind more established players. Without question, many players also subscribe to this philosophy. Such players won't think Arsenal is destination, but a stepping stone. In other words, players will want to play for Arsenal when they're young, because they'll get great opportunities. However, once they become established, they'll want to play for a team that relies upon established players at every position. So I think Wenger's philosophy hurts the quality of the team, it can make Arsenal players want to leave once they become good, and it can deter established players from wanting to come to Arsenal. Wenger recently commented that he wants Arsenal to be a destination club and not a stepping stone, but his reliance on young players over established veterans is entirely counterproductive.
brenton

Not that I agree with Lio, but how long does Wenger get our undying affection for his past accomplishments?

If he left now, I would appreciate everything he's done. Great job, one of the best managers, built the club, etc. If we lose Cesc and Nasri, don't bring in suitable replacements, don't get any silverware, and finish out of the CL spots, I'm going to appreciate his past work and join the Homey train.

If he leads us to an 8th-place finish and RvP and Walcott decide to leave, I'm going to stop caring about what he's done for the club.

If in four years he is still the manager and we're fighting Bolton for a top-half finish and getting beat by Sunderland to the signatures of middling players, will Wenger still deserve your appreciation/loyalty after what he's done for the club?
Patoux21

I agree with you. This season should be Wenger last chance for winning a valuable trophy ie the PL or the CL. I will appreciate what he's done for the club in the past but you can't continuously cliaim season after season that the team will get better when you are selling probably your 2 best players. The trend is on the down side and probably all the best players will continue to leave unless there's a big change on the strategy.
3rd place worldwide financially but not even 3rd on domestic table ... Great the club is making huge profits
Darren_V

Yea... the club actually lost money if you discount sold players and sold Highbury suites...
brenton

The club isn't making huge profits, unfortunately. It would be nice to see more invested in our transfers, but we're not a moneybags club like City or Chelsea.
Homey_Mills

Lio is one of the new readers I've picked up over the last couple of weeks, I believe. At least he's on the Homey train. I need all the help I can get.
Darren_V

Anything to push your agenda eh?
SJGgumby

With friends like these...
Rico

Think we may be in some trouble, BBC news say that Fabregas and Nasri are on the verge of moving away and SkySports has confirmed with bbc news saying they both won't appear in the Newcastle game. If these to "Elites" aren't replaced we'd be lucky to finish in the top half, never mind top four.
I don't mind Cesc going as it's been on the cards for 2 years but not them both at once.
Not liking this one bit.
brenton

Here are my Q&A responses, a tad belated:

1) Where you see Arsenal finishing in the table this year, and who do you have winning the league?
I would be happy with 3rd or 4th, considering the changes in the squad. At this point I can't see past ManUtd for the title. They've improved, and no one else really has. Or they haven't improved enough.

2) Is this the year that we end our trophy drought?
Nope. Not a bit. We're going to end up using Traore, Squillaci and Jenkinson in an important quarter-final and lose on a defensive gaffe.

3) What do you expect to see during the remainder of the summer transfer window?
It looks like both Cesc and Nasri will leave, which means we'll probably see one player come in to replace them. Mata? Jadson?

4) Is there a young player you expect to have a breakout season?
That Diaby kid is pretty great. Struggled a bit with injury... I think Wojo will impress, make us all forget the Schwarzer debacle.

5) On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your level of satisfaction with the way things are going at Arsenal right now, from top to bottom?
4. 4 is sucky.

6) Who do you project as this year’s team MVP?
van Persie if he plays more than 20 games. But look for Gervinho to have a stellar season as well.

7) Who do you expect to be our biggest disappointment this season?
Jack can't live up to the hype. He'll get red-carded in a major match and cost us some silverware, like Zidane. Jack is the new Zidane. With a football.

8 ) What will we be talking about next summer?
The same things, minus the Cesc drama.
JG

According to Goal (yeah I know), Wenger spoke to Kicker, a very respectable German sports newspaper, that there would be no move for Mertesacker, saying "we have 4 CB's, we don't need any more".
Now, it's possible that if he did say this, he's saying it as a simple public tactic to avoid getting reamed with prices if he did go after a CB. Or perhaps he has shifted his focus from defense to attack, now that Cesc and Nasri are leaving. I say we hold out until the 31st, but still, doesn't sound good.
Darren_V

It's an old quote
JG

Stupid Goal. Posting old quotes days/weeks later in order to get more hits, and stump gullible fans.
Homey_Mills

Don't be all pessimistic and negative, JG. That's my role. Unless you want to get on board the Homey train, that is.
Orion

I read that Scott Dann's rumours are gathering pace according to Sky Sports while Juan Mata is "expected" to join us according to the Daily Mail. I don't know much about the former, except that he's 6ft 2, but on Mata.. do we really need another winger? I'm not sure if they would fit right in the squad but at the moment I'd take anyone, sadly.
SJGgumby

I've heard he can also play centrally, though that's second-hand information.
Orion

Are we willing to put someone as playmaker who wouldn't be in his favourite position?
SJGgumby

Do we know that its not his favorite position? Or, more importantly, his best? I mean that as a serious question.
Orion

I didn't watch Valencia so honestly, I can't answer. But I watched him play against Liverpool last Saturday and he played on the wing. He's pretty good there, mind.
Darren_V

Anyone? I'll play...
Orion

As long as you've got two legs and no hair. I take responsibility in paying you myself, and in honor of your Dutch heritage, I bestow upon you my Bergkamp shirt, which arrived this week. Go get 'em.
Darren_V

I can shave my head for Arsenal!
brenton

And end quote. That is what I want to hear from our players.
Orion

You guys do realise that by "no hair" I referring to chest hair, don't you? Darren might be willing to part with the hair on his head, but the hair on his chest? I look forward to a gloriously and fiery season opener.
JG

Cesc 99% certain to go. Wenger said he wants it done quickly.
Gigi_man

I always understood quickly as: "quick, I got a lot of signatures to put in contracts" and not as in: " quick before the transfer window closes and I have no oen else to sign!" :)
Darren_V

He also said we would be very active this transfer window.
Homey_Mills

Are you trying to out-Homey Homey? I thought I was the king of snide remarks about Wenger.
Darren_V

Your the king of pessimissim, that's for sure.
Orion

And a top club can't sell it's best players.
Bumblefock

i have a huge hunch today that cesc and nasri will go
NLDL

just to get everyones opinions, if cesc goes and we buy mata like expected who believes he would be a worthy and able replacement?
brenton

I think he would be a suitable replacement for Nasri. Cesc, well, he'll be a little more difficult to replace.
Eduardo Church

I just paid $22.85 for an iPad 2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $674 which only cost me $62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, CentHub.com
Gigi_man

Ha I was still waiting for the "...and 15.99 for my Arsenal shirt and I am pissed off because..."
Orion

Sure thing.
Homey_Mills

If only I could ever get moderator powers to delete spam around here...
Orion

Spam? He paid a meagre $22.85 for an iPad 2-64GB and his girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that they got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS! That's a good bargain!
Darren_V

I know I'm jealous.

..sigh
SJGgumby

I don't know about you guys, but I've spent most of my day - and my salary - on that website. Seemed foolish not to.
Darren_V

I looked and inquired, but had to be fiscally responsible.
SJGgumby

Fortunately, before I hit the purchase button, my wife mentioned that we got a new battery for my old camera. So it was almost like a new purchase.
TK

I'm sure your camera now has immense potential.
Darren_V

I'm glad you had the mental strength to resist the overpayment
Orion

Talk to the Nigerian prince, he might give you something extra to fund your glorious spending spree.
Gigi_man

Just read an article that says that we gooners must not wish Arsene to go.
Just to clarify among all readers here: I still believe we have a top coach, I am only amazed by his decisions (or at least comments if he is not the one deciding).
I have always said that in order to get rid of Arsene we have to think about a replacement, and thats where the problem is, I would not settle for anything less than a same-level coach.
Still, a little fed up with things thus summer and Arsene.
Patoux21

Just one word Hiddink
Martin

Hiddink would be fantastic. But who would we hire in 2.5 months, when Hiddink gets bored and decides to move on to job # 2,793,812?
Bumblefock

i almost never concur with your opinions, but yes, hiddink is good.
Patoux21

Just one word Hiddink
Patoux21

Just one word Hiddink
Gigi_man

Hey those were 3 words! hahahaha.
I would love that, but I also hear what Martin says.

Hey guys Homey and co why dont you start a survey, just for fun and also the results would tell us if we should risk or not to call AWs head, on who could replace him.
Patoux21

Apparently Jadson is going to replace Fabregas but I've seen that he's shorter than 1.70m and not that heavy.
I wonder sometimes about Wenger knowing this is the premier league one of the most physically demanding league. Imagine Wilshere playing alongside Jadson in midfield we are going to explode against a team like Stoke or Chelsea ... just my though
satan

This would be funny: Very random predictions, that I think could happen
1) Arsenal
2) Chelsea
3) Manchester United
4) Liverpool
5) City
6) Spurs
7) Everton
8 ) Fulham
9) Swansea
10) Sunderland
11) Stoke
12) Aston Villa
13) Bolton
14) West Brom
15) Wolves
16) Newcastle
17) QPR
18) Norwich
19) Blackburn
20) Wigan
Gigi_man

Mirror says we got a bid for 36 M pounds for Cesc, price was 40. I say seal the deal and lets get over it.
What do you guys think?
Homey_Mills

Raise your hand if you think we'll sell Cesc and Nasri and then spend all that money. Nobody raising their hand? Didn't think so.
NLDL

sell cesc and nasri quickly to give us more time to buy replacements. 36M and 25M is more than enough to buy a quality CB or 2 and a decent replacement for cesc. I dont even think we need a replacement for nasri as we already have decent quality on the wings. Should have been completed quicker though, the sooner the cesc saga is over the better.
Squash2034

we are sufficiently covered in defense. we have 4 CDs.

"zey ave zee abiliteee"
NLDL

i disagree, if both koscielny and vermaelen are injured we're left with squillaci at CB? i for one wouldnt have much confidence with that scenario. at least one new CB is needed.
Homey_Mills

It's always hard to tell when people are serious or sarcastic by reading it in black and white, but I'm thinking Squash was being sarcastic. Even Wenger's most loyal supporters think we need another CD. Except maybe Bertrand.
NLDL

ah, in that case i apologise for my response. sarcasm really doesnt come across well over the internet.
SJGgumby

Anyone know anything about this Jadson fella we're being linked with? Just on the face of it, replacing either Cesc or Nasri (or, gasp, both) with an 8M signing doesn't sit right, unless we have faith that this is a TH or Viera level stroke of genius. That's a lot to ask.

Edit: According to the youtube, looks like he scored one and set one up vs tottenham in 2009. So there's that.
JG

Signing Jadson, by itself, wouldn't be so bad- he's a semi-regular for Brazil and has been a standout player for Shakthar since he got there. However, if no further additions to that area are made, especially if we lose both Nasri and Fabregas, then that would be bad.
SJGgumby

Maybe he can be a replacement for Right Wing Bendtner, Gervinho is the likely replacement for Nasri, and we still need a replacement for Cesc.
Gigi_man

...and stupid and low self esteemed.
(meant to be a reply below for the Cesc supposedly giving up his wages to become a culé
Darren_V

Homey, JG, I'd love to see your projected final standings and how we compared individually. Plus, then everyone can slate us for stupid positioning like me having Fulham in 7th!
1)Manure
2)Chelsea
3)Arsenal
4)City
5)Liverpool
6)Spurs
7)Fulham
8)Everton
9)Newcastle United
10)Stoke City
11)Bolton
12)Sunderland
13)Wolves
14)West Brom
15)Blackburn
16)Aston Villa
17)QPR
18)Swansea City
19)Wigan
20)Norwich City
Homey_Mills

I actually scribbled my top 20 down, and then I think I tossed it after I was done. I still have JG's saved in my e-mail though. But for the top 6, I think it's clear from my answers up above: City, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs.
Andreas Sims

I would wager QPR ends up higher in the table. They have Man City-like money behind them, as they're owned by Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Bratore, and Lakshmi Mital (5th richest person in the world).
Darren_V

Yea, but the thing is, they haven't re-invested anything into their squad from last year. It's the same squad as last year.
I think they will struggle myself, but we shall see.
Homey_Mills

Those were my thoughts on it as well. I wonder if there are any other clubs out there that have money to spend, but never spend it...
Georgedb1

I've never heard of a player, a captain, helping to pay for his own transfer fee out of his salary. It's a disgrace, it is shameful, and in my eyes it erases all of the goodwill he has earned over the years at the club and it might even earn him some animosity. It is one thing to leave when a big club comes calling with cash in hand, but when you claim that you love our club, its the worst sort of hypocrisy to help pay for your transfer fee so you can go to another club and be a hyper-priced substitute.

The players who would do that sort of thing (and, again, I've never heard of it before) are those who absolutely hate where they are. But even then, for example, Tevez hates Man City, but you don't see him offering 5 million out of his pocket to get out.
Martin

A player willing to leave their team for more money -- terrible, disgraceful
A player willing to sacrifice money to leave their team -- terrible, disgraceful
Georgedb1

The latter is much worse. Fab is not only allegedly going to take a hit on his paycheck, but he will, allegedly, GIVE money to us so he can leave. That's very different than simply sacrificing money, in terms of leaving for a smaller paycheck. That's the financial equivalent of saying "get away from me"
Chicago Gunner

Can someone please make a coherent argument as to why Cesc is deserving of any animosity over his desire to go to Barca? I don't see any reason why anyone should be pissed AT him. Sure, everyone should be pissed ABOUT him leaving, but it's not like he's a dick for wanting to go to Barca. He's a lifelong fan of Barcelona (the team), Barcelona (the city) is his home, Barca is possibly the best team ever, the team is stacked with his friends from the Spanish national team and he is basically guaranteed to win titles. Why would anyone thinks Fabregas is a dick for wanting to go to Barca in light of the above? If I ever became an NHL player (I'm 32, my NHL window is still open!!), you bet your ass I'd want to play for the Blackhawks. It's not his fault this transfer saga dragged on so long. Barca's to blame for not poneying up the money earlier and Arsenal's to blame for thinking they could stop it from happening. I am disappointed that Cesc is leaving, but not so much because it will hurt Arsenal as because Cesc is just so fun to watch because he's so damn good. Instead of seeing him once or twice a week on TV, i'll see him maybe once a month on tv, if that, because I hate those little d-bags on the Barca squad (except for Messi and now, Fabregas) so much that it's hard to watch them if Arsenal isn't their opponent. I wish Fabregas all the best and I would love nothing more than to see him take Xavi's job. It would be so sweet to see Xavi relegated to the bench in favor of Fabregas after that little bitch pissed and moaned about Arsenal trying to keep him.
Darren_V

Well that is only rumour, so let's wait till it's confirmed first, no?
Georgedb1

I hope its only a rumor, because if its turns out to be true a formerly beloved Arsenal player will turn into a shameful character in our history.
Zamil_m10

from the Spain vs Italy game we can see Spain (ie:barca) cant dominate withought puyol and xavi. i hope cesc sees this and realizes arsenal only lost 4-3 to barca last season.that wilsheres only 19/20 ramsey 20/21 yrs old, gerv has been added, rvp is the best striker in the world, theo and miyaichi are speed beasts who track back very well, vermaelen and djourou is alot like puyol and pique, sagna best in epl, szeczny is the best goalie regardless of age, arshavin is like an older version of messi we use as sub and gibbs is solid(-.-). Arsenal are on the up and could surpass barca.

i think nasris is disgusting if reports he wants a move are true, but there hasnt been any quotations of him wanting to go anywhere really. i dont think he wants to leave. minus a few thousands from almunia, denilson and bendtner pays and give nasri a 100,000/week but nothing more than that.

Another thing is we can never anticipate AW in the summer transfer market. winter yes (arshavin,samba (campbell?)move) but not summer. Who were vermaelen?miayichi?henry?song? all these guys werent listed by the media as targets in the summers they were acquired but we got them and they all came good. Its kinda like Arsene controls the media in London cause the opposite in their stories always happens. manipulation of information, this is a very useful tool in marketing.

lol We got gervinho when we were meant to get hazard and cesc was meant to be sold 3 years ago

food for thought

PS: i think arsenal can win the EPL this year
Homey_Mills

Is there any way I could borrow those rose-colored glasses that you're wearing at the moment?
Gigi_man

Completely right about Spain, and the period will be over soon.
Look, they were in mid table in the early 2000s, they brought people like Pitbull Davids and got up, then they started to say that the Catalans were bla bla bla, but actually, when you come to look at the names that gave them true trophies, only XAvi and Pujol are, because even Iniesta is not Catalan.
So if Cesc lets his feelings blind him, better off without him man,
Patoux21

I don't understand Wenger strategy during the transfer window. It's just plain stupid. Selling Fabregas and Nasri, 2 of our usually starting 11, before the start of the season?? And we don't even know who is going to replace them and if Wenger knows he's going to have to pay a lot more since it will be a necessity to buy. Fantastic once again Wenger and don't tell me you will have to be patient with the new signings in order for them to "gel" when you had all summer to deal with transferts. Oh yeah that's right also you need to give time for the team to mature in order to win trophies but when you sell your best players when they finally reach top level how do you ever expect the team is mature (I am pretty sure he's going to buy some young talents for cheap and not top players).
Homey_Mills

You should have read my last blog, me thinks.
Martin

In fairness, I'm not sure he could have realistically kept either Nasri or Cesc, even though I think he badly wanted to keep both.

Nasri has one year left on his contract, and realized that he could make almost twice as much money at Manchester City as he could at Arsenal. To come anywhere close to matching what Manchester City was reportedly offering, Wenger would have had to offer Nasri a contract worth way, way, way more than any Arsenal player had ever made before, and those high wages would have really drained the budget. For a player who's really only been at a high/elite level for half a season. I think his hands were pretty tied on this.

On Cesc, what more could Wenger do? He dug in his heels at ever opportunity and kept him longer than most teams would. But if a player obviously and publicly wants to be somewhere else, and basically goes on strike in the preseason (I don't buy the injury excuse) to force the club's hand, what's the alternative?

I don't necessarily disagree with your argument that he waited too late in the window to be conducting these deals, though.
Gigi_man

I agree with you, but it is imo Wenger's fault not to be able to keep them: he simply did not do the homework of adding to the team like 2, 3 years ago, so now we could have a decent back line or more depth, so they would not want to go, because now, frankly, when everybody knows for years our needs, the market gets more difficult.
I loveD Wenger, now he just broke my heart.
Darren_V

Do you think Cesc would've stayed around if Arsenal had been more ambitious in the transfer market in previous seasons?
I suspect not, but one wonders...
Patoux21

At least I would have expected one of the 2 to stay or extend their contract. Maybe if we still had these 2 players for the season we could have a very strong team and finally win either the PL or CL therefore they would have no reasons to leave the club since what they want the most is winning trophies? (maybe not so much for Fab since he's a Barca fan). Now we have even less chance to win anything ... And how about the big names Wenger were talking about Mata, Hazard??
Benjamin Dockter

That's just the thing. Arsenal offered Nasri a new contract that was significantly higher that what he makes now, but still nowhere near what he could make at City. He didn't want our contract so there's nothing we can do but sell him. It would be incredibly stupid and irresponsible to have him stay in the hopes that the team will do well enough to sign a new contract before we lose him for nothing last summer. I think the Cesc situation is more the fault of the board than anything. No matter what anyone says about us having a poor negotiating position because Cesc wants to leave, will only go to one club, etc. We had a very strong negotiating position. He's our player and we have him on a long term contract. The board should have given Barca and ultimatum for July 1st and said 50mil or f*ck off. Instead we've continually let Barca walk all over us and make us look bad.

There are replacements in line to replace Cesc and Nasri. I think Nasri has already been replaced with Gervinho, AOC and Ryo. I fully believe that if Cesc goes, Mata will be an Arsenal player within a week.