Arsene Wenger says that the departure of Alexis Sanchez to Man Utd won’t be as painful for him or the fans as that of Robin van Persie back in 2012.
The Arsenal manager believes almost everyone has already come to terms with the fact that the Chilean has no intention of extending his contract, whereas there was some hope over Dutchman until he released his now infamous ‘you guys’ statement.
Add to that the fact the Gunners will be getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan in exchange, and it adds up to a less traumatic situation according to the Frenchman.
“Our fans know Alexis will not extend,” he said. “they have accepted that idea and the fact it will not be one-way traffic.
“It will be other-way traffic as well and that makes the whole thing a bit smoother, maybe a bit less disappointing.
“We lose a player, yes, but we could gain another player. I think one would replace the other.
“We took Van Persie when he played in the reserve team at Feyenoord. We made a long work with him.
“When you get them there and, after they leave, that is the most painful.”
The Sanchez/Mkhitaryan swap is expected to go through tomorrow, although if both clubs want to play their new men at the weekend, the deals must be completed by midday.
Arsenal are also set to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the striker was left out of the Borussia Dortmund squad for their game against Hertha Berlin on Friday night.
There are suggestions that Olivier Giroud could be part of the deal, which would make him the fourth first team departure after Francis Coquelin, Theo Walcott, and Sanchez.
It’s mad, Ted!
All good but really want HFB to stay.
The reason why no one bothers with the Sanchez transfer is because Wenger has slowly choked the pride out of the fans. With Van Cuntsie it hurt because it hurt our pride, to leave Arsenal and go play for a rival was unacceptable. With Sanchez everyone knows Arsenal were not good enough to keep a player of such class. Sanchez was not signing a new contract and everyone sort of understood why. Then it was clear that he would leave for a rival and it didn’t hurt. Because 5 yrs ago we fans still had a lot of pride. Wenger… Read more »
Sad but true, this deal would be a humilation a couple of years ago, now its considered as okeyish. We sell to maurinho, we sell to our competitors, we sell our best player and get their reject. This deal is a great proxy of who we are as a club today-feeders not for the champions but for the team which ended up the league at lower place than us in the past 3 seasons. Is this 10m difference vs selling him to city really worth it?
Not for me. Van Persie hurt because we stuck with him through the bad years and he wasn’t prepared to pay us back with a bit of loyalty. We made Van Persie and he f**ked us over.
RVP saw it coming.
he should have stayed ( a large legacy instead of a couple of trophies) but like Alexis, he saw how Wenger was buying and forming his squad on the cheap, penny pinching when he could buy more premium.
And here we are again. Same thing.
Alexis saw it too, laughing (rightly) at the ridiculous nature of our defending.
It hasn’t changed.
throw a couple of players to satisfy the all too easy fans and it will mask our bigger issues.
You consider yourself a complex or hard fan?
One of the rumours at that time was VAn P questioned the squad quality and Wenger pointed to the likes of Theo.
Considering his transfer this week, suffice to say whatever you think of the skunk, he’s been proven right.
Just hope he doesnt score the goals that win them and the special cunt the league this, next or any other season.
This is a guy who came to us at the height of our rivalry and understood how much we hated them(then) It was unimaginable we could sell them our best player/ captain and all, being the first time. Since then we know how the club is capable of anything and all due respect if Alexis was capable of hitting 28 in the league like RvP I’d still be mad but on a certain level he’s a bit inferior despite the big name and big ego. Also, they’ve sold us two shit players recently so we are used to doing bad… Read more »
Welbeck helped us win at OT on the way to an FA Cup win so I would say he’s repaid his fee & worth a squad position just for that
”The bad years”, and “the bad squad” was not so bad in hindsight. At least if you compare with today’s team.
I can’t disagree with any of that but would add that RvP left due to a lack of ambition at the Arsenal which, sadly, is still there. Had Wenger and Silent Stan brought in the right players to build a team around Sanchez and Ozil, then Sanchez would have signed a new contract ages ago. Depressing!
This is the truth.
RVP’s letter was enraging to read but the club proved him right in 2015 when they talked about having money to spend, signed no-one, and paved the way for Ranieri’s title win.
Leicester’s miracle was our lack of ambition.
And the lack of ambition of 18 other EPL squads, let alone the rest of the ladder.
were talking about Arsenal here. You have money to spend and only get Cech and state that you are good enough for a title. Which the season proved we weren’t. We dropped out by midseason and got lucky and finished 2nd.
Instead of being good enough and getting at least 1 or 2 more players he pulled back hoping the young players and injured players would come back or fulfill potential. Didn’t want to rock the boat with new players
This is baseless! You probably (as most of us do) loved Arteta, Rosicky, and all tho other non-right players to win the league. If Sanchez could win the league, he’d have won it for us! Stop blaming AW yet idolizing these ego-players. Sanchez destroyed our dressing room… What do you think you could possible say to make Laurent yell at you? Not once, but at least 3 times after matches?!?!
Alexis was noisy because everybody knew how much we rely on him. Xhaka and the Ox both mentioned that he was an example as far as work ethic concern. If we would have players like Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry next to him – I think he would have been much subservient. (Just like he was next to Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol)
Bingo. Notice how the problems with him started after Arteta and Cazorla weren’t around anymore.
Sanchez would never sign the new contract unless arsenal offered him s 350k a week!
He sees no ambition from Wenger. Wenger out!
Could it be thought, perhaps, that it wasn’t Wengers lack of ambition, but more the lack of ambitions of those behind him in the organisation. I’m not saying “keep Wenger regardless of anything”, but isn’t it obvious by now that Wenger isn’t the cause of *all* our problems?
If he is to get paid almost 500, 000 pounds a week, that is something not many clubs can pay not to mention the disunity it can cause. Like rvp this is his final big contract.
Lots of bollocks.
Van Twatsie portrayed himself as an Arsenal man through and through, tied to the project. We all bought that, that’s why it was infuriating when he left.
With Alexis it doesn’t hurt at all cos I never warmed to him ( and I’d be surprised if I’m in the minority on this).
Can’t see how you can say arsenal aren’t ‘good enough’ to keep a player like Sanchez when we’re about to sign Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. I don’t agree with a lot of what wenger says, but on this occasion I think he’s right – it’s different from Van Rapist cause we’re getting a quality player in return, and because Man Utd aren’t about to win the league with Sanchez like they did with VP. If we pull off these deals I’ll be well happy with this window, we’ve got rid of a load of dead wood and a guy who’s been… Read more »
Please the same tune was sung when we signed Welbeck. Quality player from United, raw gem for Wenger to polish up, pace pace pace… better than Giroud. Same crap was spewed when we signed Lacazette…”world class”. Now some lame excuse about him not gettings ervice. You make your own service if you are truly “world Class”. What Gervinho and TGSTEL had the wrong service otherwise they would have been truly “world class”? People are so easily swayed by stats when really it should be the balance of the team that has to be the concern. So let me get this… Read more »
I swear you are in marketing right? Its always repeat everything.
One ‘top, top attacker’ that has barely played and hasn’t shown that he’s worth the financial outlay since he came to the PL in a deal to enrich his agent. Sorry, but I remain unconvinced by Mkhitaryan since he came back from major injury layoff in 2015. I’d rather put the money into Mesut Ozil, who is a known quantity and already part of the side.
What’s important is if Ozil is convinced by Mkhitaryan & Aubameyang. If that can lead to his contract extension then that in itself makes the deals worth it.
Nailed it!
Well, he had an injury in 2014 which ruled him out of 6 games – not a major layoff I would think. And if you´re unconvinced about his return in 2015/16, you´re really hard to please: In all competitions he played 52 games, scored 23 goals and assisted another 32. Not too shabby … As it stands it would make sense to look up the stats of Aubameyang for the same season, which are: played 49, scored 39 + 12 assists. Nice too .. Dortmund came 2nd that season, 10 points behind Bayern (and lost the cupfinal to them too)… Read more »
Aubameyang, mkhitaryan? What? Arsenal only doing these deals now, in response to alexis leaving. Why didn’t they do it last summer or summer before that, or even one season after signing alexis. These deals are reactive, what we want is for arsenal to have a plan, a blueprint for building the squad capable of challenging.
If you are repeating Ian Wright, I feel so bad for you… Enjoy all the rest of the B.S. they feed you too.
If these deals were done last summer, you’d be waxed from yanking… Because they tell you not to, you sit like a devout seminary! Well done.
What are you babbling on about lol
Huh?
Those two (Auba and Mika) will prove to be as useless as a chocolate teapot under Wenger.
Watch Walcott play hisself into the England WC team once he escapes the torpor of Wenger’s reign
Voted down for “Van Rapist”.
Agree. If you think he is a rapist and were happy to support him whilst he was an Arsenal player that says something about you. Alternatively, it’s just a vile thing to label someone because he hurt your feelings by joining another club.
Aside from that I agreed with everything in the post, so it’s a bit of a shame that immature language had to be used.
I wonder why that doesn’t seem to be against the comment policy, blogs?
It only hurts less with Alexis because we are so used to it now.
Same thing again.
Poorly balanced squad carrying plenty of band aid and youth projects. No real attention to detail defending or constructing/buying better defenders.
Throw some money at temporary quick fix solution up top.
Hope for the best.
Seems like you’ve finally cracked. I can get behind this new santori 🙂
Agree 100% . Can’t say the same towards Ozil though. I’m super fond of him and I really hope he stays.
You’re definitely not alone. I loved Sanchez’s goals for us, but never really loved HIM the way I did RvP when he was our captain.
you aren’t. when he joined, i knew he wouldn’t last. he has that reputation.
The writing was on the wall after we won the FA Cup and all he could say was (I’m paraphrasing here) “this was ok, but I’m after the big prizes”.
Anyone that thought we would win anything big/he would stay as a result of it must be delusional. I thought he should’ve been sold the summer of 2016, let alone last summer.
Alexis is a mercenary. If he wanted to win things he would have accepted the measly offer from Man City and he would be almost guaranteed a championship winner’s medal. But he chose the money of an inferior team and to play under an inferior manager and in a tactical set up not conducive to his talent.
P. S. I hope he is another Veron
Wow!
Now that he looks like leaving, he can’t win with our fans. If he picked mancity. it would be played as him choosing the easy route to a title. What if we say he prefers the challenge of helping moaninho win?
Spot on Dan Hunter! If it was all about ambition and wanting to win the major trophies he would have gone to City no question. ManUre prob the only people willing to match his wage demands (be interesting to see how much he ends up earning). Is he going to win a CL or PL trophy with ManUre in the time he has left..doubt it
You sound as if Sanchez is a better player than Van Persie ever was for us. Let me remind you that with RVP Arsenal never got out of top 4. He practically carried the team along and he was captain. I would also like to add that RVP was one of the best players in EPL few seasons before leaving to Manu and after he left. So, saying that Arsenal are not good enough to keep Sanchez but were good enough for RVP is shocking to me. Yes, I still rate RVP as one of the best strikers Arsenal have… Read more »
No tears as Sanchez leaves. There’s no other player that loses the ball in a dangerous area as him.
The reason no-one is as bothered is because they are numb to it and its all too clear that the problem is not with the player but with the board and the manager.
I think you’re in the minority there mate. It takes more than a few years of underachieving and infuriating decisions and games to take the pride out of a lot of fans. Annoyed and bewildered at times but never without pride, come on!
HFB must stay to compete with Miki for the best scorpion kick!!
RVP was better than Sanchez. To be honest, I’d would have loved to keep Alexis, but always thought he was a little overrated. I’ll tell you what, there’s no way he is the best player in England. I can name at least 5 I’d rather have. And we have one of them already.
I agree on Sanchez being overrated. He’s top quality but not world class. He has way too many flaws to his game. RVP was a class apart. Not only was he world class, but the skunk was a great captain. And then he ditched us.
Two thumbs up! Alexis year 1 was great, team player! Fighting with Ozil about who was last out of the tunnel, quit running back after year one unless it was his bad pass… Year 3, quit running back at all… Year 4, quit passing
Why on earth would we include Ollie in the deal? He’s been nothing but a fantastic servant to the club and I would be desperately sad to see him moved on…
Boo-urns.
I have no interest in Mkhitaryan- he’s past his best, has no confidence, and is expensive. Not to mention he’s represented by one of the worst agents in the business (Aidy Ward being another). Giving Raiola a foothold in our club is a major mistake.
Sanchez’ departure is a mess of our own making, and I’d rather we just take the money at this point and spend it on someone that’s not getting 200k a week at the Mancs.
Maybe not at his best but I don’t think Maureen has shown any interest in him. Show the guy some love and I think he will flourish. He’s had some top performances at United and I’m sure with some direction he’ll perform like that again.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of Wenger, I’m glad he doesn’t treat the players the same way that prick Maureen does.
@Joe
Lucas Peres and Joel Campbell say hi!
I’m actually incredibly excited about Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Aubameyang. It might not last long this excitement but it certainly is excitement. With ozil behind them that is a much more balanced attacking triumvirate/quartet.. might as well play them all too, as if we concede 1 we concede 2 or 3.. IF this all goes ahead I predict a number of 3 or 4-0’s & 3-2’s or 4-3’s
Mhykitarian is a panic buy if ever there was one.
People saying mkhi and auba Rev panic buys – I don’t agree, I mean when else are you going to make signings other than when one of your major stars leaves? We’ve known he was off for ages, but still getting a deal done for one of Europe’s top strikers in Jan is no mean feat, and mhki is someone wenger has liked for years.
So the fact we wanted martial but got mikhi (two completely different players) doesn’t point to a “lack of plans” buy?
It’s the January transfer window, lots of players simply arent available. I think the club has done pretty well in the well in the circumstances. Also you could argue that taking the opportunity to sign up Mkhitaryan now is sensible planning for life after Ozil.
Bottom line is, I think the squad will be stronger at the end of the window than at the beginning, and for minimal financial outlay. Hats off to them (for once), it’s an impressive achievement.
how about before they do?
It’s not even a buy! Arsenal are only taking him because the alternative is being left empty handed while Sanchez walks away for free.
He may turn out to be next year’s Ballon D’or (unlikely) but lets face it, until last week he was in noone’s shopping list.
I’ve been optimistic about signings in the past, and burned too many times. The club is rapidly being run into a ditch by the board. I’d love to be proven wrong. However, all the downvotes on my initial comment are baffling, considering its based on past behavior of the players involved, the club, and the agent. If we’re after players with this sort of ability for the number 10 role, spending the money on Hakan Çalhanoğlu seems like a better option. Yes, the outlay might be greater, but as he’s not pushing 30, we’d have a player for a longer… Read more »
Agreed Badaab. It’s a calculated risk but we should have other priorities. This is what Emmanuel Petit says about the deal:
“Since he signed for United, he hasn’t been involved enough, and I’m not sure he has a winning mentality… Sometimes he reminds me of Mesut Ozil – you really have to push him to show his character, and put him under pressure to display his best qualities. There’s no doubt he has great skill, but I’m not sure he’s the kind of footballer Arsenal need. They should be focused on other positions.”
I’m really not okay with the idea of Giroud leaving. Aubameyang is a great player, yes, but just pay the money and that’s it. Giroud is unique, a perfect plan B and a great character too.
I think Giroud isn’t happy at all seeing himself behind Laca and probably Auba in the pecking order. That’s not our fault…
In a world where the current champions are looking to Andy Carrol or Peter Crouch as their Plan B, it’s absolutely imperative we keep Giroud.
Question is what happens with Lacca? I really don’t want to see another potent striker pushed to the wings. Had enough of that with Podolski.
If only Wenger would play 442 again
Unfortunately people think 4-4-2 is old hat and “no good”, even though Valverde is using it with Barcelona this year (not every game, he changes formations all the time). People seem to think we have to use either a 3-4-3 (2-1), a 4-2-3-1, or a 4-3-3, like they are the only formations available in football.
4 -2-3-1 for me all day,that 2 is what we miss now
People? You mean Wenger.
Ozil right, Mkhi left pinching in between these two speedsters is a dream…. Just gotta get Xhaka to sit and play the “medium value pass”
I’d caveat that thought by saying Podolski was always a more useful player on the left of the attack. Sure, he was a great finisher with a lethal shot, but his all round game was a bit too limited to create problems for the opposition as the central striker. Completely different situation with Lacazette, who even without scoring has still looked like one of few bright sparks recently. For all we know it could be Aubameyang playing in Alexis’ position (as a slightly more direct version?). We’ll have a better idea in a few weeks. Right now everything just feels… Read more »
Except Podolski wasn’t a striker (great finisher, though). Must be more likely Aubameyang plays wide left than Lacazette, but surely we can expect to see two upfront.
Why does everyone think Auba should play wide left?
He’s always played wide right. Even in his first season at BVB before he moved to the middle, it was Reus left, Immobile/Ramos central and Auba right.
At st Etienne, even for Gabon when Daniel Cousin was still their captain and number 9 he was playing RW
He’s good in the middle but also on the right. On the left it will be a first.
Podolski wasn’t striker? I guess all those memories of him as a striker for Cologne and Germany were imagined.
Podolski was no limited than Theo, yet the latter got a whole season as a CF snd Wenger Willing to accommodate him as a striker
Honestly I’d play Auba in the left channel, but high line attacking from that side, with Laca as a false nine. He drops deeper already and is a good link-up player. Mkhi can run riot on the right. Ozil lines up behind them and drifts between.
Agree, when Wenger talks about RVP’s departure being more painful because we’d invested so much in him, the same is true of Giroud.
When we signed him, he was pretty bad for a while, and has now flourished into a player we all respect and can be really proud of. On top of that he’s a brilliant character to have at the club and has a chin like an anvil.
He wasn’t as good when he came but still he was not bad. Fans just realized how good he is when he is not playing. I knew his qualities from the start.
Considering the shite many fans gave him, Giroud owes us nothing.
We’re lucky he stayed on.
All the crap about Welbeck being better because of bags of pace.
I’ve always been excited about the man who lead Ligue 1 in scoring, but he improved immensely under AW, he wasn’t close to the national team prior to joining…
Giroud going is a blow, but inevitable. With the World Cup at the end of the season, being third in the pecking order would really harm his chances. Dortmund would be a great opportunity for him. They only have a youngster up front, so he is pretty much guaranteed regular first team football. If he doesn’t go to Dortmund I don’t see him hanging around…
He’d score loads of goals with Dortmund. The game against Wolfsburg was a great example of the damage he could have done for Dortmund. If Giroud had been playing he would have scored two or three goals easy. None of their guys could put on in the back of the net. Yarmalanko missed a few sitters that game. Auba was suspended.
Still wish we got Yarmolenko
Welcome in advance Mkhi, hope you recover your Dortmund form with us.
I’d prefer we sold Lacazette than Giroud.
Think Lacazette looks a neat and tidy player, but he’s seriously lacking in athleticism.
Decent enough player but no more than that.
Lacazette out would also allow for a another big wife player coming in
Why aren’t we in for any English talent! Barely any englishmen in our squad with Walcott and the Ox shifted. I know there’s not really Amy good English players out there but still
Chambers. Holding. Wilshere. Welbeck. Maitland-Niles. Willock. Nelson.
If you admit there isn’t many good English players then why are you complaining? Who would you go get?
I haven’t got any socks on but why can’t I pull em up
We played 6 British players in the last game LOL
These foreigners taking jobs of decent hardworking brit players. That’s more money for our NHS.
Etc etc.
Mkhitarian and ozil linking up is a very tasty prospect
Not really…may mean we do everything from the middle again…more side ways passing.
Right, not having a creative unpredictable force from the right?? Who could that be?
Elneny?
It’s mad, Ted! – ‘tis bonkers isn’t it !
I hope we keep hold of Giroud too. That Malcom player looks like he might have been a promising replacement for Theo, shrugs. Hopefully Jack and Meszut will sign new contracts. And would it be too much to ask to bring in a decent central defender?
Arsenal’s transfer policy – DOWN WITH THAT SORT OF THING!
Careful now
“And would it be too much to ask to bring in a decent central defender?”
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER FIRST PLEASE
Losing Giroud would be a risk but it seems necessary because we couldn’t satisfy him, Lacazette and Aubameyang if they’re all vying for the CF role.
And Welbeck!
Welbeck isn’t even Plan C
That would depend on whether or not plan C is “Punt it into the side netting from six yards out.”.
No. We can play 4-2-3-1 with Auba on the left and Mkhi on the right, Ozil as No.10 and Laca up top
Giroud is a straight alternative for Laca and Welbeck for Aubameyang. We are in fact light in midfield and we still need to replace Cazorla. We need a midfielder for sure. 30 games a season midfielder.
Buy a striker who operates best through the middle and use him out left. great idea number one.
Buy a player rejected by United because he is low on confidence and use him in the state our squad is…low on confidence. Second great idea.
BOTH 28yrs + so if either or both don’t work out, we will be stuck with them for 4 years at minimum on high wages. Expect reliance on academy ‘products’ and more band aid because we can’t afford it down the line…particularly if we don’t make CL which is a distinct possibility.
wow Santori, your transformation is complete. Once you were full on Arsene apologist waxing lyrical over his transfer acumen (when you weren’t romancing Flamini), now it is all doom, all day.
He has played other positions before. So has Laca. They will figure it out.
Getting Mhki even though i would prefer not to is good business because its cheap buy. You can always flip him later for a hefty profit to keep in the vault.
There’s a certain Welshman capable of doing just that
As much as I’d like The ‘PEA’ © to join us to bolster our front line – I certainly don’t want our Adonis going the other way! He’s a unique player and can do scorpion kicks like no other. We have enough cash to buy PEA without having to part with the big man too for suck sake
Why would he want to stay? When there will be 2 ahead of him? Dortmund isn’t a bad club to go to now that they don’t seem to be playing that pressing style that Klopp/Tuchel played
I wouldn’t let him go myself. I would clearly explain to him whats going on and the vision ahead but on paper having 4 strikers on the list and I know Welbeck doesn’t score but still he is a striker that never gets a chance to play there.
Wonderfully honest and straightforward comments from Le Boss. Wenger at his best. He’s right.
You know what, I don’t blame Sanchez at all. Most of his time with us, he worked his arse off running all over the pitch, harder than any other player. He had aspiration and drive – pity the club didn’t. If they did, we’d still have him at his best. Just like RVP, Fabregas, Henry etc they give up waiting and move on up. I thank him for his efforts when he was with us. Sanchez hasn’t let us and the club down, the club has let us and Sanchez down.
Hopefully, like RvP, the Manx will only get one good season out of Alexis – although wouldn’t be surprised if they make him retire from international football (not that he’ll have any this summer!).
The whole situation is of our own making, we were way below par last season if we managed Champions League it could be a different story. I have no problem with him leaving he wants to win things and who can blame him. There is not going to be any winning at our club for some time yet. We have been in decline for years and I know for a fact that we could have done more but simply chose not to invest in the squad. Our scouting has been a mess as well. Also this is exactly what happens… Read more »
If we buy Auba, how do we get him and Laca together in the line-up? They both need to be central in my book.
Can’t say I’m too keen on the idea of Mkhi, and can’t really see where he will fit either.
It all feels a bit free-form jazz, but I guess at least things are changing…
I think Mkhi is more of a replacement for ozil, or perhaps one of the inside forward roles. Lets face it, if ozil was staying he would have signed a new deal by now
If we get those 2 players we better be playing a formation that max their talents. Playing the current formation would hinder these acquisitions.
4-2-2-2 maybe?
Laca and Auba upfront, with Ozil and Mkhi behind, but we should definitely sort CM/CDM position.
still don’t understand why Giroud is a pariah!
I think it’s fairly easy to see why RVP’s departure was more painful. We made RVP. Stuck with him through thick and thin; long periods injured, etc…. only for him to snake us. Luckily, SAF proceeded to snake him and the rest is history. Hope you’re enjoying Fenerbahce Robin!! Karma’s a bitch ain’t it. As for Sanchez: we took in a very good player who wasn’t getting enough playing time at Barca and raised him to a higher level. Our reward? He fucks off to the highest bidder to win “Trophies” (read: money). After his experiences with the Nasri’s, Clichy’s… Read more »
Please take Welbeck instead of Giroud…
Is Danny now the new Theo?
Nobody wants him. He’s not a starter, same as he was at United before Van Gaal got rid of him but you won’t see any team interested.
Even Theo with his flaws had goals to sell him but being physical and running all day can be bought cheaply easily from the championship all the way down to conference.
Welbeck ins’t perfect but cmon? He is talented and he works for his teammates. Plus he has hardly had a run at his natural position. I’m not saying this guy should be a starter but he is some bum.
He’s in the September of his career and nobody knows his best position yet. Says everything you need to know. Sir Alex who knew him better than most knew it wasn’t his best position. People like chicharito and Macheda were used there instead. And this is Fergie who knew something we didn’t and the same thing we are seeing now. And saying he hasn’t had a run there ? No please. The season we bought him he played there while Giroud was injured. At the end of the season their league stats were Giroud played 29 goals 16. Welbeck played… Read more »
I never said he was better than Giroud lol
No he didn’t play regularly last season. OG came back and AW moved AS back to wing. The club was already struggling for goals before Welbeck came back.
Swapping Sanchez for Mkhitaryan & Aubameyang, I’d take that…thats about the best we could have hoped for in our situation.
Can Mkhitaryan & Aubameyang play in the Europa league? Does anybody know?
Is it? Or are we sold that it is. Are the new scouts really doing their best or simply going with their contacts rather than finding the best deal for players we truly need to balance the team out? I don’t think this is the only or best solution. We could have bought Mahrez (26yrs and coming into peak years) for 45m last summer probably about the same now. Genuine creative force and wide player on the right but we are forced to take Mhykitarian (a much older player) because they got us by the balls with Alexis. Good policy?… Read more »
You couldn’t give away Mahrez last summer. You would have taken Mahrez and not make a run at Lemar? I wouldn’t even have put Mahrez as plan B he was that bad for Leicester. Bounces back this season probably tanks next.
Mkhi can, Auba can’t with us.
You only get one of them licensed no more. At least that’s how it is the other way round. Europa to CL if I’m not mistaken
It’s actually… Yes to Mkhi, No to Auba due to Dortmund dropping into the low ranks of where every other big 6 EPL has played multiple years of competition over the last 10 years (or not qualified at all)… THE EUROPA LEAGUE! (BTW, in case you are bad at math, this is our first in 21 years and we will win it!)
Why is everyone referring to Aubameyang as our player? Have I missed something?
I’ve seen too many transfer windows to believe any of these.
Are we sure Aubameyang wasn’t left out due to suspension?
Also, can someone remind me what RVPs famous ‘you guys’ statement is?
1)Sell your best player, get a reject who isn’t exactly a wide player and whom at 28yrs if he doesn’t work out will be hard to offload. And we’ve seen it before from band aid project Silvestre to the excitement around Welbeck by the same chorus here proclaiming him potentially world class and the pace that would make him better than GIroud etc etc etc. It never ends. 2)Then bring in a striker (admittedly with good stats) never mind mind we just signed a striker (with good stats from France) just recently who surprise surprise is struggling to adapt at… Read more »
Marketing genius AMN is natural CM so he would be going back to the position he came out of the academy playing. So no it wouldn’t be jerking him around but actually giving him relief he ins’t learning a new position. So how does that even come close to what happened to Chambers? You are getting rid of OG because there will be too many strikers here. I’m sure OB wouldn’t want to be used only for 10 min a game. He would rather have a chance to start or play alot more at Dortmund. Be featured in a top… Read more »
I can’t see how anyone can seriously suggest Sanchez would have stay if we had been more active or more efficient in the transfer window. Yes, we need to do much better, but with double-the-money Sanchez stands to make from manu, we were never going to keep him regardless of who we signed and who would blame him? We offered to make him our richest player in history and a guaranteed starter and he still said no. He was determined to play for Citeh, but cash turned his head – not the idea of trophies or playing better football. C’mon!… Read more »
Alexi($) ($)anchez
I seriously hope Giroud doesn’t go!
I wouldn’t mind Sanchez going to Manu so long as he continues giving the ball away, disrupting the team harmony by feeling he’s better than every other player, killing counter attacks by his pointless dribbles, arguing with Pogba, carrying a long face each time he’s substituted and caught on camera laughing whenever Manu are 4-0 down. He will be less of a threat. As much as Sanchez has been good for us you can’t rule the fact that he’s been a cunt sometimes when things don’t go well.
Are we still telling ourselves this bedtime story about him being the bad guy who laughs at us on the bench? Even though the reason cameras were focused on the bench was because TV doesn’t broadcast streakers running onto the pitch, which is what both Cech and Sanchez were chuckling about? Cool.
No, for me it’s his slow, continual lack of effort for the team matched with an increasing amount of yelling at them constantly… He’s to blame for Iwobi’s lack of confidence… Look back on your DVR and watch that Iwobi has always defered to Alexis this season is lacking conviction in his play
Was that a Father Ted reference at the end?
That would be an ecumenical matter.
For me though, playing Ozil and Mkh in the same team would be like playing into the hands of our oppn.. both would take turns to frustrate us..
Meanwhile in other news…
http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/the-toe-poke/65/post/3351434/nicklas-bendtner-celebrates-birthday-with-shirtless-horseback-glamour-shot
Why is this news not more prominent ?! :O
I haven’t a scoobie what is currently going on at this club! FFS!!!
Why the f$#@ are we getting rid of Giroud? We’ve just now sold our top 3 known scorers for f@#$ sake!!
Oh…& AW, whilst “Our fans know Alexis will not extend” & “they have accepted that idea” this is despite REPEATED assurances & promises by YOURSELF that he wouldn’t be going anywhere. If that statement alone doesn’t tell you exactly how much the fan base have lost faith in you, then I don’t know what will.
Complete goddamn shambles of a club, & a goddamn silent board!!!
Wenger’s departure will not be painful for a lot of us, that’s guaranteed. Doesn’t matter who replaces Sanchez as long as this manager is still here.
Not cool at all. Why should we sell the ethereal HFB as part of this deal?!
We can have an awesome front 3 of Alexlaca for LWF position, HFB as CF and MickeyHenry for RWF position. Here, we’ll have a plan-A AND a plan-B at the same time!
Also in this case – Auba, Wele, Malcom and the different youth players we ourselves possess can all be bedded in from the bench in the different front 3 positions, yes?
You want to purchase a 55M player and put him on the bench? I love OG but Auba is clearly better then him.
OG knows that too and wouldn’t want to sit on the bench for the rest of the season and see his France spot slip away.
I did say “can all be bedded in”, meaning Auba can be unleashed sloooooowly from the bench.
But if transfer money is the main factor in dictating the starting 11 even for us, then MickeyHenry can be benched and Auba/Laca alternating the 2 wing forward positions.
Based on my decade plus (13 to be exact) experience in PES, FIFA and Football Manager, isn’t it quite obvious that I’d make a fiiiine replacement (whenever that may be) for Le Prof? 😉
“Our fans know Alexis will not extend,” he said. “they have accepted that idea and the fact it will not be one-way traffic.
Who does the muppet speak for? Now he claims to speak for all supporters? That we’ve all “accepted” mediocrity?
Grotesque manipulation of reality to weave his own false narrative.
With all due to respect to the man, the statement makes no sense to me either.
Hard to disagree with that one. I am still haunted by the letters RVP.
This hurts more because he’s our best player since Van Persie. Wenger lies to the fans and doesn’t give us anything to be hopeful for.
Yes, RvP case hurt much much more. Alexis could go wherever he wants, and I wouldn’t hate him. Rvp the opposite for me, he’s a cnut. Period.
RVP was a much more complete player. Huge flaws in Sanchez’s game.
I think it doesn’t hurt as much because there was a feeling that if we had kept van Persie we would probably have one the league that season. The competition was good at the time but now it’s ridiculous. City are so far ahead of everyone it’s unlikely we’re throwing away the title to United, at least this season, and it’s not like we have any chance of winning it. Sanchez has always been a bit of a mercenary, he’s often spoken of his dissatisfaction with not winning the league etc and, at the moment, he probably has a better… Read more »
100% agree. However, that is also down to the lenghty and unworthy sags the Sanchez situation was. Had Sanches been sold last January to Manu it would have caused riots.
All in all, and compared with rival non-oil driven clubs, our management is shameful.
Wenger Out!
Don’t worry, as soon as we beat some crap team 3-0 everybody here will justify Wenger in everything
Sanchez has never signed a contract extension in his career, did anybody think that would change now out of his love for Arsenal?
I am hoping that all of the departures in the Summer and now mean that Wenger and the Board realized that things were not working as it was and changes needed to be made. Other squads have hit low points, rebuilt and are much stronger for it so hoping that will be the case for Arsenal. I know many will say that Wenger needs to be part of the change, but whether or not that happens or one believes that it is good to see some of those players that underperformed or were not playing much sold to get the… Read more »
No matter what, I am glad Alexis is leaving. I have never liked him, feeling he has never been a team player, and never will, no matter who he plays for. Hopefully I’ll be proven right and he will become a disruptive influence on ManU. Anxious to see how he handles Maureen’s insanity. Especially Maureen’s desire to play safe boring defense first and foremost. He strangled Chelsea’s offense and we all know what happened to them until they got rid of Maureen. Here’s hoping Maureen and Alexis will destroy each other.
What an absolute bucket of bollocks.
You’re becoming an embarrassment.
With my deepest respect, it is more than possible that AWs exit would also hurt less than what RVPs did
I see Giroud thrown in the mix at the end there. Why not a few soccer balls too? Headline “Arsenal sell Coq and Balls to C**ts”
Basically he kept him in the summer believing Alexis could make a difference but that did not pay off in the title race. Value of player then (bid by City) at 60m could have been reinvested in a new player (say Mahrez) but instead we take half the money now whilst we can and get a player low on confidence into a team low on confidence. Its a panic buy. Mhykitarian doesn’t tend to play wide either so it doesn’t solve our propensity to congest into the middle (Unless of course Wenger has other designs for the Armenian say in… Read more »
Has he gone yet?