Well, it seems like we have managed to tie down WIlliam Saliba till 2027 for now. Ornstein broke the news about the agreement and it’s going to be a 4 year deal. Saliba has moved on from the one of the best talents to one of the best defenders in the world, and it was very important to not let him go.
So, Edu and the club has managed to tie down Ramsdale, Saka, Martinelli, Gabriel and Saliba, and we are sure Odegaard is not going anywhere too. That’s 6 of the important players from our playing XI. Good job from whoever is involved. We don’t let go the best of our players.
Criticize Edu and Mikel for everything but they have managed to keep the important players. You may argue that we are paying over the odds for likes of 21-year olds, but I am looking to win things even if it means we overpay.
Rice will cost us a whooping 80m+ and will demand a salary of 200k+/week at minimum. He plays for a mid-table team who was fighting a relegation battle for the whole season. Do you expect the likes of Saka and Martinelli, who are probably the best in their places in premier league satisfied with anything less than that? It’s not like we are paying huge money for the has-beens and retiring people (like Willian?).
Credit where it’s due. We have 4 years of no worries in 6 places. We have the RB and LB sorted already. Jesus came in last season and we tied down Nketiah too. It’s the midfield which is a worry, but if we are bringing players, we would have a very stable team, where you don’t have to think for at least next 2 years (that’s when these players have 2 years left on the contract and you decide whether to cash out or offer them some more money).
We are in good place. Hopefully we will sort out the midfield this season, pick ourselves up for the fights at two fronts and win something. I’m going to very specific with my demand as a fan – win Premier League and have a good run in Champions League and I will be happy.
It’s not too much of a ask when we stayed on top of the table for like 90% of the season. It’s not too much when it wasn’t City who won it from us, but we gave it to them. It’s not much when Arteta is in his 4th full season, having spent in the north of half a billion and have a team of his own.
Short one today, hope you are having a nice weekend!
Probably more important than any incoming signing this summer – major relief that’s done.
Nice one, Ambarish! Better news than the cricket! 30c in sunny London.
Just need 3/4 versatile, quality additions and we’ll be good to take on all the competitions. Keeping all our best players is a fantastic basis for the future of this team.
Bob
Cricket is not just doing justice to us 🥲
Indeed, Saliba done is a brilliant news for us. Just need the midfield sorted and then we can hope for the best.
Very happy with the Saliba news. Let’s hope the next signing is equally important as a starter.
Saliba’s the glue in our back four who keeps Gabs centered and calm.
Time to buy the main targets. 🙂
Good post Ambarish. Rice looks most likely next incumbent but I’d prefer Caicedo next to be honest. Caicedo offers us far more than Rice and has a higher ceiling imho.
great news, of course…my only concern with the whole “buying in” narrative is that generally when that’s the case you don’t have to pay above the number, unless the term is substantially longer…based on the wages being offered, Marts is the only one on a value contract, likely because he was the first in the queue…for players of this particular age group to get massive wages and playing time assurances, knowing that in 4 to 5 years you will be eligible for another hugely lucrative deal while still in your prime, it’s kind of a no brainer…just hope that these deals don’t hamper our ability to go big game hunting for at least 2 new recruits
we know that what we have already isn’t enough to get it done, which is why how one conducts themselves from an asset management perspective is so vitally important, unless you have a bottomless pit of money…just imagone if we had considerably more foresight and this business was done in a much more timely fashion before the leverage completely shifted towards the players…don’t get me wrong, I’m elated by the fact that most of our best young talent have signed on the dotted line, but Ode’s going to demand a similar wage to Saka/Saliba, which means that our wage bill is going to increase to such a level that it will make it exceedingly more difficult to sign the kind of players who can legitimately take us to the next level…this is when deals like Vieira’s or those within the winter window can really come back to haunt, especially when they didn’t achieve our intended goals…I’ll be incredibly interested to see how these new wage realities will shape our present window activities, both outgoing and incoming
Ambarish-are you starting to believe that the whole ESR swap + cash gig is more than just the work of clikbait thirsty journos? Cheers
The only way I’d be happy to see ESR as part of any Rice deal is if it took £10m off the price and it would effectively be the cost of a one year loan. Even then I’m not that keen.
If it was Viera on the other hand…..
TVRL ‘wage realities’ = sitting at the big boys’ table.
Bob-I get the whole “big boys’ table” gig, as this has been my sole focus ever since the “empty” promises of our move to the Emirates were first uttered, but that certainly doesn’t mean these new realities won’t have serious ramifications on our ability to truly challenge for things…it reminds me a lot of the whole like a “new” signing era, in that all of the players we’ve re-upped were already in the fold and clearly don’t have the juice required to put us in the elite status conversation…of course, they’re all still young and trending in a positive direction, but it’s certainly not a coincidence that during this re-upping phase there’s likewise been considerable chatter about our financial model moving forward
I was thinking about it quite a bit last evening watching Kroenke’s Nuggets go up 3-1 in the NBA final and they spoke about the fact that this was the first time, during his lengthy reign, when he paid any luxury tax due to the fact that their wage bill exceeded the “soft” cap limit…following this statement the colour commentator said we all how Kroenke operates, so changes will be forthcoming, regardless of their success, as he doesn’t want to be paying out of pocket, so to speak, even if they win it all for the first time in their franchise’s history…so the question remains, is Kroenke still in the spending phase with us or has he reached his limit and now it’s time to return to our previous, much more frugal, model
Fair points TVRL. I wasn’t expecting KSE to keep on net spending at the rate they have been. I’m sure you’d agree it’s been a case of ‘speculate to accumulate’. Our squad value has gone up appreciably in the last 2/3 years with our young players improving significantly and the addition of some expensive recruits. We now have to start getting some decent money in with our sales.
Our commercial and match day income will go up significantly if w stay challenging and get into the ko rounds of CL.
By buying young, there is less potential turnover of players. If we can get Rice and Caceido in, thats one area that’l not need improving for a while, assuming they stay for a while.
We have to get our timing right for sales e.g. selling Jesus in 1/2 years to help fund an upgrade.
“TVRL ‘wage realities’ = sitting at the big boys’ table.”
Couldn’t agree more as I mentioned the other day Arteta (before this summer) has spent over €450 million on transfers since his appointment and achieved very little for it.
All managers make bad signings and all managers have signings that on paper look great that just don’t work out. We’ve got to start getting bang for our bucks.
Tony-I tend to agree with you regarding the whole Caicedo v. Rice gig…the more flowers that are thrown at the latter, the deeper I dig into the equation to try and see what it is that has so many so-called experts heaping plaudits in his general direction…here’s what I’ve surmised, both are byproducts of their respective managerial tactics, so when I’ve been underwhelmed at times by Rice it might have more to do with Moye’s and Southgate’s unflattering tactical pursuits, whereas Caicedo has played under two coaches who’s respective gameplans might have actually exaggerated his level of play a tad…of course, this doesn’t mean Caicedo isn’t a talented fuck, it just means that I need to read between the proverbial lines a bit more when evaluating players…maybe this is why some are still not convinced by Bissouma
TRVL
“Bob-I get the whole “big boys’ table” gig, as this has been my sole focus ever since the “empty” promises of our move to the Emirates were first uttered”
There’s one thing there that does need to be kept in mind. At the time of concept etc gate receipts made up a huge amount of a clubs income and moving to the Emirates was going to build a huge gap between ourselves and pretty much every other club in the PL other than ManU. Then the TV deals went bonkers and we now live in a world where the 30 richest clubs (by income) are Madrid, Barca, Juve, PSG etc plus the 20 clubs in the PL. A club like Bournemouth who’s average attendance is just over 10,000 is in an elite group.
Its a bit surreal and slightly mad but the collective bargaining is something we mustn’t get rid of.
Marc ‘ achieved very little’ – bit harsh. Two years ago we finished 8th, a year ago 5th, now 2nd.
You could try and paint a picture that last season, Liverpool and Chelsea underachieved and will be better next season and that somehow our second place was not merited.
I would argue that we have signed up all our quality young players to new contracts, we’re settled as a team with a cohesive way of playing and we’re quite clearly looking to improve the main area of the team that needs upgrading with top quality, young PL proven players.
What has ben achieved is getting the club into an enviable position- silverware to come, hopefully!
Bob-totally agree with the age profile acquisitional model, which is why I was pissed by our settling winter window…I get that balance is required but those chosen to take up crucial roster spots, for the foreseeable future, must make sense tactically…Tross didn’t make any sense, minus his perceived value, as he’s not a like-for-like Marts replacement and he doesn’t offer anything that different from our first option up top, due to his diminutive stature…Jorginho made even less sense due to his age, lack of pace, defensive struggles and term required…in turn they might have cost us a chance to get in a player who might really make a substantive difference…then when you add the 50+ we threw at Vieira and Lokonga, combined, wouldn’t it have made far more sense to have just sorted the midfield out with proper investments when the monies were first offered up…this is likely why Nelson and Eddie were re-signed for well above the number, following their respective contract expiration dates, as we need to avoid transfer fees like the plague…like I’ve always said I just don’t see a clear line of logic or a definitive/viable plan, besides those anyone could find in the first chapter of the Football 101 textbook
TVRL, I think the Jan window just gone was an attempt at pragmatism. Caceido and Mudryk couldn’t happen but we needed bodies to try and get over the line. It didn’t work out but would you not have criticised inactivity?
Trossard looks like an excellent squad addition, Juninho could go this summer.
Bob
The season before Arteta took over we finished 2 points off 3rd. The two 8th place and the 5th place finish are down to him. We massively regressed under him for 2 and a half seasons and this / last season (I haven’t quite arrived at season 23/24 yet!) saw 3 of the usual contenders have terrible or even worse seasons.
You’re letting the narrative of the fan boys influence your thinking. If we end up in a battle for 4th in the coming season what will your take on that be? Acceptable or Unacceptable?
Bob-or exceptionally poor planning on our part, as one went pear-shaped in mere minutes, as soon as a far more savvy club emerged, and the other was an 11th hour frantic attempt with little hope of succeeding…anyone could have gotten the other two deals over the line, as Tross was on the outs, yet we still paid full price, and Jorginho was about to become a more periphery figure with the return of Kante…as such, activity for activity’s sake wasn’t what was needed, especially for a team sitting in the catbird seat with a sizeable lead
much like on the pitch where MA has never grasped the concept of having a viable plan B, this appears to be the case when it comes to our transactional pursuits, as these 2 were the functional equivalent of plan Z…once again, this isn’t meant as a slag towards the two players in question, as they both have something to offer the right team, but once our plan A went tits up, our next move was to pursue the same nonsensical course of action we did with both Vlahovic and Locatelli, in our fruitless push for Caicedo, then we ended up with 2 players who weren’t even on the most extended of transfer wishlists…so whereas I do agree, in principal, with your “criticised inactivity” claim, it’s kind of a moot point as there’s no way we weren’t getting players in after what had transpired the previous January…remember both MA and Efdu spent considerable time propagating the notion that a very definitive plan was in place for that particular window, which seems rather laughable in retrospect, don’t you think?
Marc as soon as I read ‘fanboys’ I struggle to take your post seriously. I went to my first game 50 years ago and have had a ST for 30 years. I have my own mind but I listen to others views in, I’d argue, a discerning way whether it’s your anti Arteta position or the pro (fanboy as you put it).
You choose to ignore the context of the squad Arteta inherited as well as Covid and his own inexperience when you try and paint a rosier picture of the club he inherited and what he had to deal with. If you can’t see serious progress, with the help of considerable investment granted, then I think you’re being blinded by your dislike of our manager.
I am not an acolyte and I think he needs to clearly improve in certain areas but if you can’t acknowledge that he has influenced Saliba. Saka, Martinelli from signing on, under his tenure and the improvements in our play and cohesiveness, + goals scored, GD and points achieved etc. then you might ask yourself why are you so reluctant to praise him?
The vast majority of the fanbase are behind him. Your position is your own, shared by some others. I just hope that you would be sufficiently open minded to be able to enjoy success, in terms of major trophies under Arteta.
TRVL ‘savvy” – fatboy in a sweet shop Boehly, are you being serious?
Bloom said ‘No’ – fair enough, it was worth asking as by all accounts Caceido and his agent semed willing.
You argue so hard against Edu and Arteta! How do you know what was on our ‘extended wishlists’?
Bob-ok “savvy” might have been a bit of a stretch, but our dithering ways and attempts to finagle payment schedules into the next millenia certainly wasn’t a flattering look either…let’s also remember that this is the same club who managed to get Nkunku over the line for a fraction of his projected fee haul, so maybe I take back my previous “savvy” reversal
secondly, Bloom said NO from the offing, but instead of sticking a pin in it and pursuing other similarly scoped options, we dug in, failed miserably, as we might have hurt any future dealings, then went full darts at a board mode
finally, I don’t claim to know their specific wishlist, but it’s a pretty safe bet for me to suggest who wasn’t on their wishlist, Tross and Jorginho, unless everything leading up to these purchases was an orchestrated ruse
TRVL
Yes, I believe it’s just clickbait. I have been wrong several times in my life and it could be one more, but imho it’s just sensationalization and sells more. ESR is one of our own, he is not going anywhere. Hopefully!
Champions League night, let others say they want City to win because they are playing great football and Man Utd won’t have their treble to count, but as an Arsenal fan, I can’t see anyone else lifting Champions League before us.
Inter has got my support. Plus we have all been fan of underdog story .let the football win over oil money.
Bob
“You choose to ignore the context of the squad Arteta inherited as well as Covid and his own inexperience ”
1) The squad he inherited finished 1 point of 4th and 2 points off 3rd the season prior to him taking over – no debate no opinion fact.
2) COVID affected all clubs it wasn’t only Arsenal – if anything it helped Arteta because it kept fans away whilst he was screwing up.
3) Inexperience – We’re not a social experiment I didn’t think he was ready for the job and argued that point but once appointed I was “OK lets see what he can do” which so far has been a FA Cup fluke and either piss poor performance, bottling it or both.
Why won’t you ever give a position on what won’t be acceptable next season? If Klopp finishes outside the top 4 next season his job will be in serious peril, same with the Poooooooch, Howe and Ten Haag.
TVRL – wish list then availability. You choose to believe that it was slapdash work in January, I recognise pragmatism when I see it.
Trossard seems a very capable footballer who offers an option in a few positions. His impact was immediate. Juninho, short term solution that a big club like Arsenal can afford to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left if we do get two, top CM targets in.
No real concerns there unless you’re trying hard to paint a narrative that ignores the practicalities of doing business in the January window.
Off to the pub to watch the game!
Marc, you don’t and have never rated Arteta, I get it. I will stop trying to convince you of any positivity towards his continued employment!
Last game of the season,looking forward to it. Can’t see inter stopping them,City have only themselves to get over,not always easy,especially when you want something so badly. Nerves are a great leveller. Still, would be mad to back against them. I think KDB is going to go down as a member of the best premiership team ever. Toss of a coin between him and Kenny Dalglish to get into my all time eleven ( english lge). He’s a joy to watch in fairness and extra points go to him for the pain he must cause Chelsea fans every time they see him!!
Ambarish,
The new look is class,well done.
Tony,
Apologies for lack of response, will sort that soon.
Bob,
You get to go to the pub to watch it? And to the Emirates for home games? And Lords for the cricket? No wonder you’re so positive!! Looking forward to the ashes next weekend. US open in golf also. All is not lost!
Bob and TRVL,
I will leave that discussion to you guys, but personally I feel it’s not always black and white. Arteta inherited a bad squad, no doubt with the likes of Mustafi and Bellerin. He fixed that. He also inherited Guendouzi and Torreira, whose market value he plummeted and we had to let them go for peanuts. Add Laca and Auba in that list too.
He sensed our fanbase is getting toxic, so he connected with them and the Arsenal fans are on one of the loudest these days. He had his favorites and we have paid price (willian 37 games after assisting 3 in his first game and never doing anything great), Pablo Mari and Mustafi over Saliba, side-lining Emi over Leno etc.
We also have played some great football last season against the likes of Manures, Chelseas and Liverpools. We also have surrendered against Southampton and West Ham which basically took the title away.
So I am going to blame him for letting the title slip but then will praise him for putting us in that position where we are sorry that we missed it.
Cheers, have a nice one guys! No agenda, don’t care what the a million a month traffic blogs says, we are just fans.
like most sports football is a copycat gig, so whomever wins at the highest of levels are invariably used as the functional blueprint for anyone hoping to achieve such heights…now some might say how could one possibly emulate their particular model unless money was no object, but if you think about their squad construction, minus Haaland and maybe Grealish, most of Pep’s choices weren’t without their respective doubters, so this isn’t the PSG model, where you have Mbappe, Messi and Neymar etc…at your disposal…Pep has a firm understanding of what he requires to deploy the kind of football he most desires, then he searches high and low for those who might best succeed within these particular parameters…as such, I hope they win tonight and put another feather in the caps of those who precribe to his sort of cerebral approach
in the highly anticipated race for midfielder replacements for those within the top7, we’re now trailing Pool, City and now Villa…fortunately the only one of the fresh recuits I would want in our side is MacAllister, who was purchsed for what appears to be a relative steal
Ambarish-“will praise him for putting us in that position where we are sorry that we missed it”
I get the sentiments, but it’s a little too beggars can’t be choosers for my liking….that said, I don’t harbur any ill-will towards those who support the manager, so long as it’s not reminiscent of the full-on blinders variety that prevaded during the post-Highbury Wenger era…as such, kudos to you for at least acknowledging some of his failings, but it doesn’t quite cover it for me…I land a bit more on Marc’s side of the ledger, albeit only in regards to his last two points, as the first one presupposes that we only needed a retool and not a rebuild, which I never agreed with considering our hiring choice
no “now” before trailing
if DeBruyne needs to be subbed that could change everything…Pep must have been shitting himself before he got the player’s thumbs up
I spoke too soon…looks like it’s Foden for DeBruyne…certainly that must mean some tactcial finagling now
tactical
Deja vu for De Bruyne, albeit he wasn’t assaulted by that thug Rudiger this time. TRVL,you could be right about the game hinging on that. The city system is heavily reliant on him. Foden is a lovely player,but he can’t play that role. Time for Haaland to step up and justify his wages.
Inter must be beginning to believe, Neo style.
KDB subbed, can it be the spark Inter needs?
TRVL, yes in short. It’s perfectly fine if any of us in inclined towards or against Arteta and co.
Almunia-Pep might be desperately hoping for some more Gundogan late season magic…I would suspect that Mahrez wil be coming in shortly, which will allow Silva to drop into the midfield…the big question being who will Pep sacrifice to get Mahrez on the pitch…it’s clear that Inter are taking a more wait and see approach, in the hopes that they can snatch victory in the latter minutes, which might be a savvy decision in light of City’s past late match disappointments
TRVL,
Mahrez,Alvarez and Walker are all likely to make appearances and tbh a number of city players are way off the mark but I would imagine Bernardo Silva and Grealish are the two most likely to pay the price if things don’t improve.