13 Sep 2017 14:44:35
What continues to baffle me is some of the players that Wenger let go or would have let go this summer:
Out: Gabriel and Oxlade
Would have let go: Giroud, Mustafi, Chambers, Wilshere, Debuchy and Elneny.
I fully understood why he let Gibbs and others go.
Thoughts?
13 Sep 2017 16:48:56
Perhaps we had replacements had they have gone.
13 Sep 2017 17:21:41
We have better players than them in the squad, all have question marks against them and some players are strangling our wages bill. We still didn't manage to get rid of most of them anyway.
13 Sep 2017 17:34:37
I think he has and has always had his eyes on next season as much as this one.
Sanchez and Ozil will be going and I think he plan was to clear out get some cash stashed away ready for a big response to their leaving.
People just haven't played ball as he had hoped they would so far and I think January may well see more departures.
Our biggest ever spend next summer would lead to new optimism and possibly to get another new contract for Arsene.
13 Sep 2017 20:47:35
Oxlade Chamberlain was never good enough. 9 goals in six seasons is pretty dire. Even Gervinho had a better goal scoring record. 1 year left on his contract with 35m on the table, I thought it was a pretty simple decision.
Gabriel was never a world class defender. He has never been a regular at Arsenal and always seemed like a accident waiting to happen. Was a risky signing who didn't work out.
Giroud is a good striker. The game against Leicester shows his worth. Never going to be our number one striker. But one of the best in the air. Good option from the bench especially when teams are defending deep. Sometimes you just need to cross it in the box.
Chambers has had solid game time playing for middlesborough. I don't know how well he performed but he was a starter for the U21 for England. Maybe not a upgrade to Gabriel but did well in his early Arsenal career. Probably his last chance this season but I think he's worth the risk, still young but more experienced than last year.
Wilshire is injury prone and on 90k a week. No one will look to invest in him. To be fair to him when he signed the contract he was showing some real promise. Unfortunately for him injuries have blighted his career. Probably get realsed at the end of the season.
Debuchy has been out of the first team so long it's probably difficult for teams to sign him. To be fair to him he was france number 1 and looked like a really good replacement for sagna. Bellerin form means he wasn't missed at all but always going to be difficult to move him.
Mustafi is a German international. Started off brilliant last season but probably lacks the leadership. He was horrible against munich but so was a lot of players. Probably a 3rd choice defender at best but still think he adds value.
Elneny is solid, sometimes you need players in a squad that will give you a 7/ 10. Will never be a regular but I think he is a good back up.
13 Sep 2017 23:15:15
if sanchez ozil walk for free our next summer money goes on replacing them. nothing more. no improvements.
14 Sep 2017 11:00:15
True Derby but people will be happy if we buy two new big name players.
We may be no better off on paper but morale wise new players bring new optimism.
All fans of all clubs get excited by new players and the bigger the names the bigger the buzz, this is where Aresnal and Arsene went badly wrong for so many summers of not spending, they allowed the enthusiasm fade by not feeding it and have done exactly the same this summer too.
The difference between this summer and next is Arsene has breathing space because if his shinny new contract but next summer with the months ticking by he will need to win friends and influence people to stay on past this current contract.
Can't see him calling it a day willingly now or in 2 years time he is adicted to the game.