Arsene Wenger says he’s more focused on trimming his squad rather than adding to it despite the 1-0 defeat to Stoke on Saturday evening.
The Arsenal manager declared himself unconvinced by the centre of defence, but seems to have no plans to make an addition there, preferring instead to shift some of the fringe members of the squad.
Asked post-game if he was looking to make any additions, Wenger said, “I expect to sell players first. That’s all.
“I expect players to go because we have too many players, it’s not manageable and many clubs are in this situation that’s why the transfer market is quiet.
“We have 33 players at the moment and that’s too many. I am not after a game like that just in a transfer mode.
“We are more disappointed. I am not thinking straight away to buy players tonight.”
There’s just about 11 days left of the transfer window, we suspect some movement will be necessary, both in and out.
Sell more central defender’s
the fluidity of our central defense means that we see a back three of giroud, sanchez, and lacazette very soon!
Back to school with you as well
The Arsenal manager declared himself unconvinced by the centre of defence, but seems to have no plans to make an addition there.
BREAKING NEWS – After reading the ^ sentence logic went and jumped off a cliff.
I’m sorry but I have to say I’m suffering from a bad case of “Deja Moo”. I’ve heard all this bullshit before.
Frankly I think hes gone a bit bonkers……
Just as a matter of interest, who was playing where today?
It’s the vaunted “couple dudes at the back the rest up front” formation, with secret weapon “You know him as one of the best right backs in the league, now featuring as an inside-cutting left forward” Hector Bellerin
Seconded! Seriously – I’d peer at the tv, notice the ponybun and wonder why exactly this dude was receiving the ball in the centre circle. Only position bellerin didn’t wander into was right back!
You really don’t want to know
Did Wenger know, though?
He went bonkers years ago, fans are gradually realising. He should have retired years ago.
Summertime Optimism™ gone
Ha yeah, it doesn’t take long these days does it….
Anyone else sick of this plank? Honestly, we need about another 3 top players and a proper defensive coach not that gum chewing manaquin that sits next to Wenger during games.When I have broken records I throw them out, but strangely I am addicted to this crap.
I AM Sick of Wenger. Get him out!
He won’t leave and the board won’t sack him, after all he has just been offered and signed a new contract.
We have the players in the squad to make a fist of a title challenge but playing a left back as centre back ; another left back as left sided central defender ; our right back playing as a left sided wing back ; bringing on Iwobi to play central while leaving Bellerin on the left flank borders on insanity. Also ,Lacacette would have scored from the Giroud head back if he had been on the park if he had been on the park . What the fuck does Bould do apart from nod when Arsene says something. Hate to… Read more »
How about 3 excellent player? or 3 exciting players? or 3 unique players?
@Arsenalista
Steve ‘arsenal legend’ Bould, did you ever see him play?
I mean it makes sense. Sell players first frees up money to invest. Would be very difficult to add another player and keep paying all the current ones.
Still a bit unsure as to why Bellerin was on left today and not Ox and why Walcott came on for Laca when Stoke was sitting deep. I wish journalists would ask questions like this than the transfer ones he has answered countless times before.
then why wait till the end of the window, total bass ackwards miss management
You know we actually have enough money to buy players before we sell…
If they did ask him, he would just throw back “listen I have managed in the game for around 30 years. I think I know what I’m doing.” His usual response when asked about tactics.
It makes sense but I don’t get the impression we want to buy anybody at all
We have (as we seem to have had forever) a lack of balance in midfield that a quality defensive midfielder would provide. Buying might solve that.
Buying will not solve this team’s lack of real mental resolve. At this stage it’s frankly ludicrous to think that will be resolved without a change of manager.
What came to my mind is: if something was really demoralizing last season – it was seeing Alexis laughing with Cech at ourselfs.
How on earth will be able to fight throughout the season if we will have to go out on the pitch week in week out, knowing that our best players cannot wait to step down at the end of the season?
Sorry, what are you talking about? I don’t remember such a situation (Alexis & Cech laughing at ourselfs). Could you explain please? Thanks
Google it: “bayern alexis arsenal laughing”
I am quite concerned that players will begin to doubt the Boss, and that just inevitably leads to the crisis scenario.
Surely not doubt ‘the boss’! Brill
Sad & no one wants to see this…but I think we all agree it’s now a possibilty getting more likely each game.
With some of the dire performances last season, and three players not showing the remotest interest in signing new deals. I think we have gone past that point.
I’ve been doubting about Bruce Springsteen for a long time now, but I’m not sure his relevance to the Stoke defeat.
I’m an eternal optimist. I love Arsenal. I always start the season thinking we really can win the league. This is the first season in 36 years where I don’t think we can. That’s sad for me. Change please.
Was having similar thoughts today. Sure we’ll all somehow enjoy the sadistic ride coming up, but it will be a rough ride for the top-4 only. Hopefully I’m wrong though – it’d only be fair after being wrong so often in the last 12 years or so about our good chances of winning!
Poor planning from the club as usual. If we don’t get 2-3 players in, WE WILL NOT MAKE TOP 4. Count on it. This guy clearly has no idea what he’s doing. Get a cb, cm and wide player. That’s what we need to at least not look like a 6th place team
What difference will a signing make, if we bring another centre back in he will sit on the bench with the other centre backs… perhaps while he watches the ox play centre back, that’s one he’s not tried yet!
Fuck off Wenger. You blew it last season. If we fuck it this season we are Liverpool for a decade at least… but Seri (mostly) and Lemar and let someone, anyone, sit back when we attack. Its embarrassing now that we all know this and you don’t, cos yo old brain.
Yeah selling all the players he bought or promoted from the youth team who aren’t good enough.
“I am more focused on selling the players I have bought who have proven not to be good enough.” There isn’t a player at the club whom Wenger has not bought since all those bought through Stat DNA he either doesnt play or outs anyway. It’s his fault.
Exactly. I have to sell before I can buy is what a new manager says about the old manager’s players.
Ideally don’t buy average players in the first place, but if you do buy them don’t use the excuse of having too many of them to stop you replacing them with better players.
Statdna has proved itself to be worse than a computer virus for us when it comes to buying players.
Maybe we should invest in better scouts. I hear there’s some very good ones at sp*rs & Southampton.
We have Perez that WANTS to go…to a club that WANTS to buy him…with his agent SUPPORTING the move…We WON’T play him…& we have a squad that NEEDS triming…but we will hold out for the possibilty of 1 or 2 more million. FFS AW
I don’t get it. For years we’ve been selling players for way less than they’re worth and us fans have been criticising the club for that. They’re finally starting to hold out for more money on the outgoings and are rightly trying to receive the money players are actually worth.. and we’re still criticising?
Why can’t we play Perez ahead of welbeck? At the very least it puts him in the window, and in my opinion would finish those welbs chances
Goonerink – I agree with all youe points.
is wenger afraid of changing ozil when he is not performing? ozil should have been replaced
Gio – not disagreeing with you. However there is a difference in the value of a player that is a first choice in our regular team, & someone who we don’t seemingly want to play at all. I would agree that the initial offer on Perez was too low, but by accounts they’ve now come back with an increased offer. We’re holding out on maybe 1 or 2 million now not some sort of figure double what they’re offering & how we see as his value. He’s a good player, & yes probably worth more…but we (AW) don’t want him.… Read more »
Because they are holding out a time when the act of selling is holding up everything else. Right now the need to sell is greater as Mr Wenger seems to say in literally every single press conference.
Then again, perhaps the board just wants to use its leverage where it can and get some money at least for the fringe players. Afterall, all the top players we have will be leaving for free.
Gio,
I don’t think anyone is really objecting to the fact that we’re holding out for more money for Perez per se, but rather that we’re doing so when (a) it’s preventing us (or we’re saying it’s preventing us) from going out and buying the greater quality it’s obvious we need in order to challenge for the title, and (b) we’re completely unwilling to play Perez in the meantime.
We all want the most money for players when we sell them but if Wenger says he needs to sell players before he can buy better ones then we need to get rid of them. Even if we have to have a fire sale to get the dead wood out of the club
Care to provide examples? Because historically we have been doing the opposite, taking advantage of inflated prices and selling our top player because it benefits the “business” (rather than the club) and attempting to buy players as cheap as possible! We have and will have had offers for our top players, but the reluctance to sell Sanchez is having a knock on effect and the club are trying to make up else where. There should be no admiration for how we operate in the transfer market, if anything we are incompetent and manage to do the business ovcassionally. The majority… Read more »
I don’t think buying or selling players has anything to do with today’s loss. The squad we already have available is more than capable of beating Stoke. In general we played very well, completely dominated the game and on another day would’ve had a penalty and Lacazette’s goal allowed (we would’ve likely won 2-1). Stoke’s goal was a good one but Monreal for me should’ve read it better, and our defence looked a bit vulnerable in general. It’s early days in the season and I’m not inclined to jump into Wenger Out moaning on the back of today’s display. Yes… Read more »
Just sounds like more excuses to me. An unwillingness to work hard as a team to win the ball back is what cost us today. We have a team of lazy, unmotivated individuals who turn up when they feel like it & aren’t punished by the manager when they don’t.
If you win the ball back quickly off the opposition you can attack them before they can get back into their defensive shape so they haven’t got ten men behind the ball.
It can’t be that difficult to do because teams manage to do this to us all the time.
We mostly needed players who can tackle.
Like seriously you mean Walcott that got just ten minutes? If he had played for 75 minutes and he had the display of Welbec, I will agree with you that he is useless. Beginning of last season, he always start and played along Alexis. Thus he became our leading scorer before he became injured. At the end of the season, he became our second highest scorer. So the question you should be asking wenger is why not play what worked for him? Giroud and Walcott up front as can be seen in pre-season makes sense to me. I also believe… Read more »
here we go again
Wenger certainly likes to troll us fans… focused on selling…. f*ck sake. If we sell Ox for 30m then in a transfer window were clubs are spending mental money we will turn a profit!
I think he’s trolling us, folks. But seriously, he’s probably right. It’s not like we’re going to compete for anything playing like this, so they might as well make some money. He seems to have moved past the old-fashioned notion of “position”, which will allow him to really cash in. Go all out, I say. Sell Mustafi and Chambers and replace them with Theo and Giroud, play Bellerin up front and make Kolasinac the new No. 1 goalkeeper. Honestly, I think our formation today may have been art. It sure didn’t look like it was created to win a football… Read more »
Hahaha
He’s probably right. It’s not like we’re going to compete for anything playing like this, so they might as well make some money. He seems to have moved past the old-fashioned notion of “position”, which will allow him to really cash in. Go all out, I say. Sell Mustafi and Chambers and replace them with Theo and Giroud, play Bellerin up front and make Kolasinac the new No. 1 goalkeeper. Honestly, I think our formation today may have been art. It sure didn’t look like it was created to win a football game in the traditional sense. Wenger, a true… Read more »
He’s probably right. It’s not like we’re going to compete for anything playing like this, so they might as well make some money. He seems to have moved past the old-fashioned notion of “position”, which will allow him to really cash in. Go all out, I say. Sell Mustafi and Chambers and replace them with Theo and Giroud, play Bellerin up front and make Kolasinac the new goalkeeper. Honestly, I think our formation today may have been art. It sure didn’t look like it was created to win a football game in the traditional sense. Wenger, a true auteur was… Read more »
He’s probably right. It’s not like we’re going to compete for anything playing like this, so they might as well make some money. He seems to have moved past the old-fashioned notion of “position”, which will allow him to really cash in. Go all out, I say. Sell Mustafi and Chambers and replace them with Theo and Giroud, play Bellerin up front and make Kolasinac the new goalkeeper. Honestly, I think our formation today may have been art. It sure didn’t look like it was created to win a football game in the traditional sense. Wenger, a true auteur was… Read more »
Heard you the first three times
Based on Blogs, Goonerblog and many Fans here i understand that we should be relatively happy about transfer season. But why exactly? Would out team year ago supported with Lacazzette and Kolasinac challenged for the title? Im pretty sure – no. Net balance till not is -55M + 13 + 10, hardly impressive for title aspirations and second most conservative amongs last years top 6. We need CB and CM, desperately, i dont give a fuck about ‘we need to trimm our squad first’ NO. First and forefuckingmosy you need to improve it sufficiently, which you have not done yet… Read more »
we need another cb
sell welbeck and get lemar
sell walcott, get mahrez or another creative player who scores 10 plus goals per season
Based on Blogs, Goonerblog and many Fans here i understand that we should be relatively happy about transfer season. But why exactly? Would out team year ago supported with Lacazzette and Kolasinac challenged for the title? Im pretty sure – no. Net balance till not is -55M + 13 + 10, hardly impressive for title aspirations and second most conservative amongs last years top 6. We need CD and CM, desperately, i dont give a fuck about ‘we need to trimm our squad first’ NO. First and forefuckingmost you need to improve it sufficiently, which you have not done yet… Read more »
Based on Blogs, Goonerblog and many Fans here i understand that we should be relatively happy about transfer season. But why exactly? Would the team year ago supported with Lacazzette and Kolasinac challenged for the title? Im pretty sure – no. Net balance till now is -55M + 13 + 10, hardly impressive for title aspirations and second most conservative amongs last years top 6. We need CD and CM, desperately, i dont give a fuck about ‘we need to trimm our squad first’ NO. First and forefuckingmost you need to improve it sufficiently, which you have not done yet… Read more »
Arsenal are really in need to buy or employ a manger , because Wenger is right in saying that he is intending to sell and not to buy players. the players Wenger signed during the last few years Arsenal are finding it very difficult to sell them even for a cheap price that the last example is Lucas he bought him few month ago for £17m and now he can’t sell for £13m . the possible price of today’s market for Sanchez is minimum of £120m and Wenger can’t get £50 for him because he let him and nine other… Read more »
alexis realized that he s not going to win an EPL or UCL with this team two years into his contract. thats probably why didnt sign an extension
Most players want to leave when they’re dropped & forced to train with the kids but our fringe players would rather train with the kids than leave the comfort & big wages of AFC.
Their attitude as supposed sportsmen stinks. Perez doesn’t want to sit in the reserves & just collect his wages but we won’t let him leave.
So we’ll let Alexis, Ozil & Ox leave for free next year but we won’t lose money on players we don’t want to keep. The logic of madmen.
It’s called respecting your contract
It’s called un-ambitious players who would rather bleed the club they purport to love dry. Sitting in the reserves & contributing nothing to the club’s success while picking up huge wages that could be given to better players if they left the club.
are you being serious? lol Perez isn’t from England so why would he want to stay? anyways the point of blaming players for being professional athletes? The careers that last if they are lucky 10-12 years. they should just go to another club and take 50% cut in wages because they love Arsenal and want them to succeed? lol what logic is that?
The logic of a professional athlete wanting to actually play regular first team football instead of being paid lots of money to sit in the reserves contributing nothing to the club paying their wages.
I’m sure they are aware of what Wenger has said about needing to sell players and reduce the wage bill before he can buy some better players. If they cared about the club or their careers instead of just their bank balance they’d take a pay cut to leave so Arsenal can re-invest.
We have 33 players true and are a very deep team, but we need to aim higher than being a deep team. Right now we are at a net spend of about 30 million pounds (give or take some) and the more we sell the more that figure will come down lower and lower. We are going to be in big trouble next Summer when we lose Sanchez and Chamberlin for free along with possibly Ozil and will have to spend big to replace them with few players to sell next year.
It’s really poor from Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. By end of next season we should told the players whom we are not keeping and find a club. I know it doesn’t sound right- but we need more ruthless approach. Unwanted players should not be training with main teams and we should have done far more to make sure they have left by now.
He has to buy to cover his shortcomings. He isn’t the worse tactician by any stretch and he has deomstrably beaten Klopp, Conte, Guardiola. BUT he is prone to these absurd decisions. It reminds me of the time RVP looked on in disgust as he subbed off the Ox who was on that day the best performer. This Stoke game has it all. Weird pick of Monreal at centre of back 3 when he should really be an emergency choice (With Per, Mustafi all able to slot in today in the middle) Then leaving out Giroud and having Welbeck kept… Read more »
It’s clear we need reinforcements. We need a cb, cm and someone with speed and creativity on the wing. Mahrez is looking more and more tempting now that we unfortunately seem out of the race to sign Lemar. Given our inability to offload deadwood, my hopes of signing much needed players are slim. Either way, no matter how many players leave, I can’t see Wenger busting out a cold billion for players like van Dijk, Seri and Mahrez. It’s a shame really, since Kolasinac and Lacazette are great additions. At the moment it looks like we’re gonna be 2-3 players… Read more »
Nothing is going to change with aw in charge. At least 2 more years of shit
If by ‘shit’ you mean loads more posts like yours, well I guess that’ll be up to you.
This guy.
Before we only needed 1-2 signings to really challenge for the title. Now we need 3-4: CM, CB, winger, and GK. That’s basically half a new team.
We are at least 2 players short this year. DCM and CB. As others have mentioned, think about what that shortfall could be next season after we lose Sanchez and possibly Ozil. We will also need to replace them and probably Cech, Mert and maybe even Kos. Looking at a proper rebuild. Frightening if it comes to pass. If we don’t get champions league this season, we could be royally screwed.
I’d like him to bring in Mahrez but I guess all the talk was the papers spouting rubbish
Why oh why do we have a left back playing in the middle of a back three.its school boy stuff,we have chambers gathering dust ffs.monreal I thought was good enough playing on the left last season but typical wenger moves him to center wen mote suitable options are at hand.i personalaly think we would have won had we not conceded but it’s same old.defending like school boys charging to the ball wen we should be dropping Back,sliding wen we should be staying up,trying to play offside wen we should be tracking our men.frustrating.laccazette looking class though not all bad.
Dont sell Lucas Perez, He is one of the players who play left footed and we are missing him on the left flank. Somebody please bid 30 Million for Walcott. Cant we exchange him with Mahrez/Antonio.
And will you also exchange his 19 goal a season for the present Mahrez? Griezman is not for sale.
He is not playing his players to their strength ffs Mr Wenger please come to your senses.
We don’t sign players to supplement players do we? If quality comes in it’s because quality has already left or is going to leave. I’ve believed all window hold Sanchez to his contract, hopefully he may stay. Yeah right who am I kidding, with £100million plus being thrown away at the end of the season, what are we going to spend errrr a big bag full of fuck all.
Hahaha! The excuses begin as do the comments that make the dumbass media stick the knife into the club even more and everyone else just laugh at us.
Well I had hoped that things would improve but I am loathed to say that Wenger is not the right man for the job!!! When you get blogs highlighting the bizarre line-up and substitutions, you have to wonder why Wenger can’t see it? I suspect with a new manager we would have kept pole in goal, git shot of deadwood quicker and probably found Alexis more inclined to sign on with more signings and a clearer direction as to what is trying to be achieved on the pitch!!! Football has been trashed by sky sports and I don’t enjoy it… Read more »
I also agree that having players in the squad that are happy to let the final year of their contract wind down is not ideal so I’d be inclined to loan out jenks, Gibbs and Wilshire; sell ox; then assuming Perez is going (as reports seem to suggest) we only have two contract rebels (ozil and Sanchez). Then bring in lemar, a decent cm and a cb with a view to strengthening the squad and giving these players a season to bed in, before ozil and Sanchez go!!! Surely that would be GOOD planning? Not this ridiculous always being two… Read more »
It hurts so much to say this… but after our performance against stoke, how could we even judge sanchez for not re-signing and possibly wanting out. We always do it to ourselves. I have much respect for Arsene… but please give us (the fans) the respect we deserve and make the positive changes needed or step down. Im convinced that there’s other managers that would love the opportunity to come in and help make us the club we deserve to be…
In this case, wenger cant bring back the glory to arsenal anymore!
His time is up!
No ambitious and out of tactical..
Using small LB to central defence is shit!
Focus on strategies to beat opposing teams and not the selling and buying bit !!!
Here are some hard truths for the club to swallow; The club needs new ownership or a new direction if we want to remain one of the biggest clubs in football. The ones we have are not showing any ambition to compete in this new era of football, with clubs like Man City & Chelsea who admittedly haven’t got our illustrious history but are ambitious to have a great future taking on established football giants like Utd, Arsenal, Bayern, Real Madrid & Barcelona. As well as investing in their first team squad Man City have invested in their future with… Read more »
With the fact that three first team players are not willing to commit to the club it is impossible to have a committed team with a common goal and great atmosphere in the dressing room (Leicester had that when they won it). Trouble ahead folks…but Spuds lost on the plus side.
I really thought Wenger would change his ways this pre season especially after the diabolical happenings last season It’s always the same , around about the time of season ticket renewals he always talks up signing players , puts in bids knowing the club would never accept it , says he’s watching/ likes such and such a player , then when the season tickets have all been purchased he makes up poor excuses like this one and also saying the squad is too big so will have to sell before buying anyone !!!! Did he not know the size of… Read more »