The Arsenal - Related News and Development for 2017/2018

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

Great move Arsenal!

kai...saw your post and thought we had extended Alexis...Anyway, excellent move re Per.

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

A case of case of staring down the a*shole and not seeing sh*t.

Looking at it from the other end, what was Leicester's outlay for Mahrez? Renewed contract included, what was their spend on Mahrez last season? How does that balance against the Champions League revenue, of which he helped to acquire? A bid of 35 million represents fantastic business for The Foxes, fifteen million less maybe, how many more millions in excess of their "net" spend on Riyadh? And then comes the season past, how deleterious an effect did it have on his market value?

35 million for Mahrez is no bargain at all. It may well be a good deal but t'is certainly not a bargain.

you have said it. Didn't they buy him for like 100k or something? He won them a title and they get to sell him for over 30 million... that's a bargain...FOR LC!

[Siddonlook11]

https://www.arsenal.com/news/mertesacke ... al-academy

We are delighted to announce that club captain Per Mertesacker will become our academy manager in a year’s time.
For the coming season, he will continue as an important part of our squad while developing his knowledge and understanding of the Academy.

Manager Arsène Wenger said: “Per is an exceptional character who is a great example for young players. He is a deep thinker about the game and committed to helping players fulfil their potential. He will be an inspirational figure for everyone connected with the academy.”

Per said: “This is the start of an exciting new chapter for me and I am delighted that I will be able to stay part of the Arsenal family. This season I will remain fully focused on my job with the team and am looking forward to a successful last season on the pitch. After that, I look forward to the exciting challenge of helping produce young players good enough to play for the Arsenal first team.”

During the coming season the academy will be led by Luke Hobbs, who has done an outstanding job since the departure of Andries Jonker to manage Wolfsburg last spring.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: "At Arsenal, we believe in developing young players to their full potential and giving them an opportunity to shine. I am delighted that Per will take on this role. He understands the club's values, he knows what it takes to win at the top level and he will be the ideal person to drive the academy forward when he takes on the role next year.”

[danfo driver]

Great move Arsenal!

kai...saw your post and thought we had extended Alexis...Anyway, excellent move re Per.

If Sanchez was your husband will you advise him to remain at Arsenal?

[Waffiman]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

[ojafranpa]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Was reported by Lequipe yesterday. Bid already rejected, final offer from Arsenal will be around 45 million pounds plus add on.

[anikulapo]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Hope he takes Ozil with him too

[ojafranpa]

The 4th Official @Official_T4O

We are led to understand that Monaco and Arsenal are 'very very close' to agreeing upon a fee for the transfer of Thomas Lemar. #AFC

[bepanda]

I assume we are still chasing Mbappe ... right?
All these 18 years that we were qualifying for CL football, Wenger refused to spend money. Now that we are expected to play some teams in Kazhakstan, Albania and Cyprus, Wenger is spending all his money and money for the next 5 years.
And who said there was positives to missing out on CL?
Just imagine how much money we will spend next season, once we miss out on Europe again ...
Bepanda

[ojafranpa]

Özil on Lacazette: "He's a very good striker who has scored many goals in Ligue 1, not just this season but in the previous seasons too."

Mesut Özil on playing with Lacazette: "I'm really looking forward to it. We're really happy to have such a class striker here with us."

Özil on Lacazette: "I've heard he's meant to be very good, always hungry for goals & ice-cold when he gets into a scoring position." #afc

afcstuff @afcstuff
Özil on Lacazette: "My friends who follow the French league know him well & told me that I'll definitely have fun with him on the pitch."

This does not sound like someone leaving.

[ojafranpa]

I assume we are still chasing Mbappe ... right?
All these 18 years that we were qualifying for CL football, Wenger refused to spend money. Now that we are expected to play some teams in Kazhakstan, Albania and Cyprus, Wenger is spending all his money and money for the next 5 years.
And who said there was positives to missing out on CL?
Just imagine how much money we will spend next season, once we miss out on Europe again ...
Bepanda

If Mbappe decides to leave he will come to Arsenal. Monaco will not sell to PSG and Real Madrid cannot afford him.

[kajifu]

Pre-season fixture list:

Arsenal

13 July: Sydney FC (ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia)

15 July: Western Sydney Wanderers (ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia)

19 July: Bayern Munich (Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China)

22 July: Chelsea (Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing, China)

29 July: Benfica (Emirates Stadium)

30 July: Sevilla (Emirates Stadium)

6 August: Chelsea (Community Shield, Wembley

[Waffiman]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Was reported by Lequipe yesterday. Bid already rejected, final offer from Arsenal will be around 45 million pounds plus add on.

Forget yesterday my fren, I am talking today. Arsenal are back in with another bid. This is looking like Arsenal final push for the player. I hope they succeed.

[jdizzy]

I assume we are still chasing Mbappe ... right?
All these 18 years that we were qualifying for CL football, Wenger refused to spend money. Now that we are expected to play some teams in Kazhakstan, Albania and Cyprus, Wenger is spending all his money and money for the next 5 years.
And who said there was positives to missing out on CL?
Just imagine how much money we will spend next season, once we miss out on Europe again ...
Bepanda

If Mbappe decides to leave he will come to Arsenal. Monaco will not sell to PSG and Real Madrid cannot afford him.

Huh? Real Madrid will raise his entire transfer fee from selling 2 bench players in Morata & James Rodriguez

[Waffiman]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Hope he takes Ozil with him too

Ozil is more important, so he stays.

[Waffiman]

Arsenal Squad Analysis

We are aware Wenger himself said ideally Arsenal will sign 3 players if we keep this group of players, if we don't, we will sign 4 or 5 players he said. Going by what Wenger said, we have 2 signings and no departures from the first team squad, unless you count Sanogo as a squad player.

There has been a lot of talk about Arsenal reaching their quota of 17 players for non 'Homegrown' players. With this in mind, I have decided to have a good look at our squad and I now ask the question who goes and who stays? Please note, your analysis must have 8 'Homegrown' players. I am of course assuming we all know what a 'Homegrown players is.

I will use the formation (3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1) we used towards the end of last season in categorising our players. As things currently stand, we have the following players:

___Sanchez1,Iwobi, Adelaide___Lacazette+, Giroud, Welbeck, Lucas, Akpom___Ozil1,Walcott, Campbell1


________Xhaka, Coquelin, Elneny_____Ramsey1, Santi, Wilshere1
Kolasinac+, Gibbs1___________Oxlade1, Bellerin, Jenkinson, Debuchy1


_________Monreal, Gabriel__________Kos, Per1__________Mustafi, Holding, Chambers1


_________________Cech, Ospina, Szczesny1, Martinez1__________


Key:
Green = Staying
Orange = Uncertain
Red = Looks certain to leave
+ = New player
1 = One year left in contract

With all Loanees returning, Arsenal currently have 34 players. The Squad should be 25 players, this means 9 of these players will not be in the squad. Who are they? If Arsenal are buying 3 players, they have 2 in already. If we are buying one more player, then Arsenal must lose 9 of the 34 players listed above in all categories.

I think the players in the Red group will leave and there is no way they stay, if they do, they will not be in the squad taking up places. That is 5 players gone. Arsenal must be rid of 6 more.

Of the 20 Staying (Green) players, Adelaide is under 21 years old, so he does not count. This means we have 19 players staying under the English FA rules.

Note: Per is the only player with one yr left in his contract but is in the players staying category. Per already has a job in the back room staff as well as being a player. He has confirmed his position in a recent interview. He says, he is effectively a part-time player. He wants to retire, but Wenger persuaded him to stay for one more year. However, if there is pressure for space, does this mean Per could drop out of the squad? I very much doubt it, so I count him in the squad.

Of the 19 Staying players, 7 are Homegrown (Holding, Bellerin, Ramsey, Coquelin, Walcott, Welbeck and Iwobi). This is not a problem because there are enough Homegrown players from other categories and the Under 21 to make up the numbers. Reine Adelaide, joined the club at 17 years old, he qualifies as a Homegrown players under the rules, so technically he fills the quota from the Staying players.

Unless, you see the likes Walcott, Gabriel, Elneny, and Giroud as possible leavers, (I will return to these players later) then we have 19 players, with means we need only 6 more players. But hold it!! Look at the positions. Of the 6 players, we need 2 goalkeepers, 2 Wide Backs or Full backs, 2 Forwards. That makes up the numbers. Hold it!! What about the shortage in Central Midfield and could there be a problem in Central Defence? Maybe we have one or 2 under 21 players to step up like Iwobi, Adelaide and Maitland-Niles. I see Niles in CM, so I do not think Wenger is bothered about that position unless he sells. I think the same applies to Central Defence. I think Chambers having a year left in his contract means, he is sold or given playing time. But Chambers has said he trust Wenger gave him opportunities when he joined the club, he expects to be in the squad for next season. I agree with him.

Of the 9 Uncertain group of players, 6 are Homegrown, only Ozil, Sanchez and Lucas are non Homegrown. So if one of the 6 Homegrown in the group stay, Arsenal have 8 Homegrown players in the squad. We need 6 players from this 9 to complete the squad, if you are going to stick with the Greens. The question is who are they?

I start with Sanchez, for me, he if he is sold, and the word out there is neither certain nor encouraging at present, some say Arsenal have offered a package of just over £300,000 per week and he and his people are taking it seriously. But there is the claim that he has demanded £400,000 per week, which I do not see him getting and I do not believe the story because of the source. Whatever it is, as much as I am an optimist, I am also a realist. We have bought players but deep down, I keep on saying who is leaving? The fans too are not easily pleased. In the summer of 2012, we bought Santi, Giroud and Podolski but it was the sale of Van Persie that ruined it all as the fans took their negativity into the dressing room. I fear the same with Sanchez.

Arsenal are right to front saying Sanchez goes nowhere and looking to get him to sign on. But, how many of us here really believe he will stay? I certainly don't. It is why, I have set my heart on his replacement - it is why I pray we get Thomas Lemar. If he goes, we are going into the market, the good thing about this is, we will know sooner rather than later.
Back to the squad analysis. We still have to sort it out.

From the Uncertain group, we have 2 goalkeepers. I am not convinced the club wants to keep Szczesny, if this is the case, then we will be relying on 2 very inexperienced keepers as back up for Cech. I know Martinez is highly rated but our keeping position will not be balanced. For me, the club has no option but to find a deal with Szczesny, if Ospina departs. I take Szczesny and Martinez plus Cech as the Goalies.

Monreal covers Kolasinac, so it means cover is needed in Central Defense, this is why Chambers stays.

Ozil stays. In our 3-4-3 system he played the Wide Right position. But, my view is Wenger will change it and will want to play Ozil behind Lacazette, this will call for a formation and system change.

So we have Lucas, Akpom and Wilshere left for the remaining two positions but Oxlade stays. The solution looks simple, Wilshere, Lucas and Akpom are sold or loaned out. But is it really that simple?

When you add these players (Walcott, Gabriel, Elneny, and Giroud) to the mix, and I do, it becomes 7 for the remaining 2 positions. The positions to be filled are 1 Forward and 1 Wide back. I know I have added these players already to the squad. But I think it is not far fetched to conclude, there could be one or two surprises and I believe it will be from one or two of these players - Walcott, Gabriel, Elneny, and Giroud. For me, Gabriel is in by default, if he was not injured, he would have been sold. I think he will be in January.

Our 3-4-3 system will be seriously short of goals without Sanchez, if Lacazette does not hit the ground running, then we will be in serious trouble. Walcott does not fit into this system, but Wenger need another wide player who can use the ball from deeper positions if we are faced with the press. This is another reason why I think Mahrez and Lemar are options we cannot do without, it is also why I see a real problem for Walcott. Mahrez, is really interesting because he can play in whatever system Wenger chooses to play. It is why I really believe the rumours saying we are after the player. If Mahrez comes in, then we must lose an extra player, which makes 10 instead of 9 players.

Oxlade's Agent is making things difficult but the chances are good for him staying, Ramsey also stays.

If Oxlade stays, then we have one more space to fill. For me it is Giroud who stays. This means, there is no room for Theo, Lucas, Wilshere and Akpom. When you add the players in the Red category, you have 9 players already. But this means a player must leave to make room for Mahrez, who will it be? This is where Martinez and Chambers come into play. Thing are further complicated with too many of these players in the final years of their contract. This is an indictment of how the club has mismanaged the situation because it will be costly. It is difficult to persuade players in the final year of the contract to extend their contract and go out on loan. This is a real mess and it stinks.

To conclude, IMHO, 9 out of the following players either leaving or going out on loan: Ospina, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Debuchy, Campbell, Walcott, Gabriel, Lucas, Akpom, Wilshere, Chambers and Szczesny.

[anikulapo]

I assume we are still chasing Mbappe ... right?
All these 18 years that we were qualifying for CL football, Wenger refused to spend money. Now that we are expected to play some teams in Kazhakstan, Albania and Cyprus, Wenger is spending all his money and money for the next 5 years.
And who said there was positives to missing out on CL?
Just imagine how much money we will spend next season, once we miss out on Europe again ...
Bepanda

[anikulapo]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Hope he takes Ozil with him too

Ozil is more important, so he stays.

You mean no one wants him right ?

[ojafranpa]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Was reported by Lequipe yesterday. Bid already rejected, final offer from Arsenal will be around 45 million pounds plus add on.

Forget yesterday my fren, I am talking today. Arsenal are back in with another bid. This is looking like Arsenal final push for the player. I hope they succeed.

We are saying the same thing my bro.

[tolahs]

Until you're shown with our Jersey on with our players & gaffer - ain't nothing going on but the London heat!!

[Waffiman]

Rumours of Arsenal going in with an increased bid of £40m plus for Thomas Lemar. This, first from Bein Sport, remember they gave us heads up for Lacazette before anybody.

Now they say Arsenal have now moved their focus to Lemar. Other outlets in France are now reporting it.

For me, this means that Sanchez could well be moving on. But what do I know.

Was reported by Lequipe yesterday. Bid already rejected, final offer from Arsenal will be around 45 million pounds plus add on.

Forget yesterday my fren, I am talking today. Arsenal are back in with another bid. This is looking like Arsenal final push for the player. I hope they succeed.

We are saying the same thing my bro.

I do not think £45m will be the final offer, I think it will be when Lemar and his Agent make it clear, they want out and it will get messy if he is not allowed to leave.

This is becoming very interesting. I need more info but I suspect Lemar is next.

Remember, my analysis about £70m to £80m from last summer window. Some say £110m from last summer. This is the money Arsenal were supposed to use to buy a striker last summer.

But Arsenal got more money to spend, mainly from CL and sponsorship, in the January window and did not use it. AST, claim Arsenal had between £150m to £160m before this summer window. When you add funds added to the Transfer and wages budget for this summer, many claim Arsenal have between £200m to £230m to spend. I disagree because I am prudent by nature. For me, I just cannot see this Board going out on a limb, they will play it safe and make £150m to £170m available for wages, renewals and transfers.

For me, Arsenal must sell to buy more than 2 top quality players, maybe even 3, but this is a long shot. Realistically, there is money and extra for two top quality but my guess is they will need to sell for any extras.

[chendosplastic]

Aniks, for your sake, I hope Ozil will finish his carrier at the Emirates. Because if Ozil leaves, it will be terrible to watch you suffer thru Ozil-withdrawal symptoms alone.

Which Kin "carrier" Ozil wan finish

Emirates carrier

[kajifu]

So if we end up not win the EPL next year and finish 10 plus points behind,will fans still blame the players not good enough?