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Just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan, this is Stan
Answer – he couldn’t give two shits.
Kroenke out.
Kiarian
This is on Kroenke and Wenger
Things do not look good at Arsenal.
A squad carried by 2 strikers who probably both want out.
Two number 10s on combined wages of over £500k a week who will be frightfully hard to sell given they’d both be turned down by any top 8 club due to their inconsistency.
A midfield “lynchpin” that cost more than £30m and cannot offer any meaningful form of defensive cover.
A defence with maybe 2-3 players that would be wanted by a top 8 club, including a £30m+ singing that appears to be worth less than £10-15m just 3 years after signing him.
They’re losing their only top quality, star midfielder (and third top goal scorer) on a free.
They’re losing their back-up striker and back-up goalkeeper on frees / retirement.
They’re probably losing 3 full-backs on free transfers.
They’re probably losing their third choice, international goalkeeper for next to nothing.
Arsenal appear to be 7-8 successful new signings and 3-4 successful academy promotions away from having a squad that could compete for a top 4 spot or a Europa League Final win… and that’s if their recruitment and talent management is up to scratch and their star strikers don’t push for a move away. Given that:
1) The clubs around them have a lot of money to spend on improving their squads;
2) They let their “Diamond Eye” head of recruitment leave without a replacement; and
3) The club claim to have just £40m plus sales proceeds to spend in the summer window…things do look pretty bad.
With Wolves and Leicester showing ambition, Arsenal appear to have a much better chance of falling into the top 8 category than they do of breaking back into the top 4.
The galling thing for Arsenal fans though is that the club had the opportunity to cement themselves in the top 4 but chose not to take it. Kroenke and Wenger refused to invest in building a strong squad – they allowed it to rot for an unknown and inconceivable reason but it wasn’t due to lack of resources as they once proclaimed.
Comparing Arsenal with how Liverpool and Spurs have acted over the past 11 financial years illustrates this best.
In the 6 year period 2008-2013, after Arsenal had moved into the Emirates but in the run-up to FFP being implemented, Profit before Interest and Tax (a sound approximation for measuring FFP) was on average each year:
– Positive £48m at Arsenal (total of £289m over the 6 years).
– Positive £9m at Spurs (total of £54m over the 6 years).
– Negative £19m at Liverpool (total of negative £114m over the 6 years).
This was the period where supposedly Arsenal could not invest in its squad and fans had to be patient because eventually, the new stadium would allow them to compete. With hindsight access to the accounts, these statements appear to be false. Falsehoods told to fans to keep them spending big money on tickets whilst the shareholders effectively pocketed it all by building up the accounts for a sale.
Even if you accept that they couldn’t raise equity instead of debt (which they definitely could have) the average Profit Before Tax (what Arsenal had free to spend after paying off any debt) was £31m per year over that period. £185m over 6 years that could have been spent on the squad at a time when that would have had a huge impact.
Whilst Liverpool and Spurs were investing as best they could, Fiszman et al. plumped the club up for an eventual sale, at the expense of supporters funding everything.
Whilst Liverpool and Spurs were trying to invest and compete, Arsenal rested on their laurels and allowed the club to rot.
Now, let’s look at how that’s paid off for the club. Over the past 5 years of published financial data (2014-2018), average PBIT has been:
– Positive £42m at Arsenal (total of £210m over the 6 years)
– Positive £75m at Spurs (total of £373m over the 6 years)
– Positive £47m at Liverpool (total of £236m over the 6 years).
At first, Arsenal appears to be doing well but consider three things:
1) Liverpool and Spurs show growth into positive profitability in an FFP world, whereas Arsenal shows erosion. Despite the huge increases in TV money and Commercial deals, their profitability is declining.
2) Liverpool’s and Spurs’ squads (the clubs’ true value) are both probably worth double what Arsenal’s is worth.
3) In the most recent financial year, 2018: Arsenal yielded PBIT of £79m, with an expectation this could crash to below zero in 2019, whereas Spurs recorded PBIT of £157m and Liverpool £133m.
Spurs’ and Liverpool’s investment at a time when they could do so, before FFP fully kicked in, has paid off. Arsenal’s refusal to even invest their own resources, let alone that of their shareholders, has resulted in a hole which they cannot dig out of. They’re stuck now and I don’t see any leadership at the club, from the owner or the “management”, which suggests they are able to remedy this.
I’m not a “football man” as Arsene Wenger would put it but I have been involved in the finances and strategy for some of the top organisations around the world and my take is this – barring a miracle of good fortune in recruitment such as finding the next 1-2 Messi’s, Ronaldo’s or Neymar’s; Arsenal is finished as a top 4 club.
It can’t ever again compete for the Premier League or Champions League – it has allowed itself to fall too far behind at a time when it could easily have pushed onto great things. Like I said, galling for fans and supporters but also truly bizarre acts from a supposedly smart businessman. The value of the club is plummeting and Kroenke appears to have no interest in correcting this. It would be a sad fizzling out for what was once a great club of the English game and Premier League.
Ben
Arsenal collectively sh*t themselves…and that won’t change
As seems to be the way with Arsenal over the past few years every game seems to have a win or bust agenda surrounding it, none more so than last night. Win and Emery worked miracles, lose and Arsenal are set back and further from the top 4 than ever.
Once again arsenal collectively sh*t themselves after going 1-0 down and proceeded to lose the match very quickly. Even at 3-1 with 20 minutes to go there is a glimmer…..wiped out within 3 minutes by a team who refuse to learn and is without any leadership.
The facts are that whilst Kronke is the owner of this team Arsenal will be nowhere, he simply has no ambition and no desire to see a victorious and successful football team. Everything below that is therefore just fighting against the tide.
That is not to alleviate any blame on the directors, managers and players. There have been far too many catastrophic decisions made over the last 5 years which could take double that time to unravel and put good.
Last season Arsenal bought 5 new first team players and by my count there are still at least 12 or so in the first team who are not good enough and need to leave. The club has been mismanaged from top to bottom for a long time, and all at a time when the financial difference between failure and success is widening.
My wish for next season is to rid this club of the high earners, low performers. Joe Willock doing more in 10 minutes than Ozil has done in the last 10 weeks was quite poignant. Ozil, Mkhitaryan, mustafi, Kolasinac – all high earners not performing and need to go. We already know Cech, Lichtsteiner, Ramsey, Welbeck are off. Also we should boot out Elneny, Chambers, ospina, jenkinson – none good enough for Arsenal. There is £70 million per season in wages alone!
Sadly we know that this kind of revolution won’t happen and in 12 months we’ll be looking at Arsenal in 6th (at best) and saying it is still largely the same squad as last year. Arsenal could finish 17th every season and Kronke wouldn’t change anything because the money would still roll in to his investment, as it stands he is alone as the only owner in the entire league not to put a penny in to the club he owns.
Rich, AFC
I feel a bit empty this morning. Not because we lost in the final, but the manner in which we lost it. Before the game I thought we would do well, barring a Hazard masterclass but it did not appear. He was good, but not unplayable.
The first 45 minutes went exactly as planned and, bar a goal, was a great start. But once the first goal went in, you could see the panic in the defense. I have never seen anything like it in any other team before. We concede a goal and the whole team becomes headless chickens, leaving space, pressing men out of position. I genuinely dont understand why but it keeps happening and it’s a problem tactically and mentally, and that is on the manager.
Unfortunately, unlike Conte his star player wasnt good. However, here I think the manager got this badly wrong. We know he doesnt turn up for big away games at other tp 6 sides. Why not play Iwobi or Guendouzi who have proved they can mix it up? Especially against a Chelsea midfield that on paper didnt look that scary. This has to be the end of the Arsenal road for Mesut F****** Ozil. What happened?
Kosc can take some blame but at 33 and with the injuries he has he shouldn’t be starting games of this magnitude. Along with Mustafi probably leaving, this means our defence next season is Sokritis and hopefully Holding. Theres no academy prodigy coming through, so we are in a bit of a pickle. Bellerin back will help but its only 1/4th of the story.
I wont blame Maintland-Niles. Ultimately, signing Lichtenstein was a huge mistake. When we needed genuine backup in a position, we had nothing and MN was asked to do a lot. He actually faired pretty well vs Hazard.
Laca I thought had some good hold up play but Auba was nowhere to be seen. As suggested in your 16 conclusions he didnt have much impact on the game, but he is a poacher first and foremost and needs the team to flow behind him to function.
Xhaka and Torreira were ok, Sokritis was ok. Cech played well. Monreal was ok. Kola was ok. Not good enough for a final sadly.
I dont think it’s all doom and gloom, but it’s not rosy either. I think we need a new defensive coach, whatever Steve Bould is doing isnt working. We need 1/2 new CBs, cover in full back, pace on the wing.
Willock/Nelson/Smith-Rowe can all be promoted to first team but we need to recruit in defense.
Now it’s time to pray to whoever it is you pray to that Salah has an unplayable game.
Rob A (let’s see what our new management team can do) AFC
That was a microcosm of Arsenal’s season, and as a result, hard to even muster energy to be frustrated about:
– No leaders
– No defence
– No midfield creativity
– Lethargic
Even in the first half when we were in control, it wasn’t at all clear any goal was coming. Arsenal have been so formless in attack that building pressure could be as much a sign we’ll concede as score.
Then as the goals came in, it was just so predictable. Mistake, goal, ball given away, goal, mistake goal. Oo Iwobi. Ball given away, goal.
Sell them all. Ozil and Mustafi, give away for free if we have to.
And for god’s sake, buy some leadership.
Tom, (exiled from) Walthamstow
Another classic Arsenal performance. Start well, make a few half chances that nobody really wants to take or score. Penalty shout. Look like conceding from the first opposition chance and scrape through to half time. Concede soon after the restart and then go into melt down for the next 10 minutes and it’s game over.
Emery needs time to shift the deadwood which won’t be easy. He’s definitely improved the team but he needs to work on the mentality, look at Chelsea yesterday and how they seem to thrive on conflict and pressure.
Jack no brackets, scouser for the weekend.
From a drunk Gooner
Hi,
Absolutely gutted on the performance today, however have managed to make the following observations.
1. Cannot defend Ozil anymore.
Have been doing this all my life. Could not take anything against him, kept believing in him always. But today Chelsea had Hazar we had Ozil. Kept waiting for Ozil to produce something special but the difference between Hazard and Ozil could not have been more stark. Ozil never turned up. Cannot defend him any longer. He used to be such a great big game player, I don’t know how, if ever he will be the Ozil he used to be.
2. Arsenal as a whole
Cannot believe how well our self destruct button works. Cannot believe how weak we have become mentally. Hard to see a way out. I acknowledge that emery has improved the side but has he really put that winning mentality back in the team. They still turn into tulles in their shell when in really matters. Timid!
3. Huge mark of respect to Oliver Giroud and Peter Cech
If you have heard Giroud’s post match comments, his muted celebrations and respect for his former club. He is one of the most underrated strikers in the world and a true true gentleman. We need more players like him. There is a reason why he was omnipresent in the entire France World Cup campaign. Peter Cech was probably our best player tonight despite all the speculations, he proved to be a true professional. Could also see him in tears after the game.
4. The youngsters.
We as a team maybe need to see more youngsters next season. Ones who rather than showing tantrums can show heart to give it all for the club. Ramsey will be so hard to replace because of his heart and not his legs. We need to not see disapointed faces towards the end but angry faces. Faces that are angry with heir performance, faces angry with their own lungs and minds and heart. Faces that say to the opponent that you may have got this one but God save you the next time we meet.
5. The owners
Not sure how long before the alienate themselves from the supporters, players and the club. Our management tells us that the owners are passionate people. Bloody show it for once. Turn up to some of our games, be there with the team after such a game. Take your share of the blame, be honest with the fans. Just tell us that you will do everything in your power to bring this club back to greatness. Be there to give the fans at least some emotional support. Say that you will not ever settle for mediocrity.
Hope the club will reinforce themselves this summer, maybe not with expensive players but with players with big passion, commitment, desire and heart to throw every single breath towards winning the next game in training and on the field.
Cheers,
Arsalaan, India
One conclusion
No 16 conclusions required…simply not good enough and no real indication that a good deal of that squad is capable of any more…
Liam…
P.S. we sold him you know…apparently not good enough..yes him…you know who I mean
Eurghzil
I want to complain about his performance but I honestly couldn’t point out anything that he did during the game
Not that he’s been any worse than other players but as your highest paid/ biggest talent they should have some impact on a game, good or bad.
Jason, chorley gooner.
What’s The Meaning of Özil?
Joe willock was more effective than Özil last night.
After sticking up for him for so many years, finally see that Özil is a has been. Weak on the ball, can’t shield. Tackling, interceptions were never his strong suits. Defensive work rate is 0. So, poor mentality with 0 grit. Ball carrying is average. Distribution to the channels is a mixed bag. Work(control, chance creation) in tight spaces has fallen off the cliff. He is capable of magical moments but those come further and further apart. He is on a fast downward spiral and coasting on past success. With nothing really to prove, don’t think he really has it in him to bounce back. Özil may have his moments in the future but its time to say goodbye.
Harish Rajagopalan, AFC, India ( Congratulations Chelsea F. C., Also #Pray_for_Neasamani)
That Willock looks like he’s worth the £350k Arsenal are paying him. Ozil should be sent out on loan to get some experience mind.
Duck
Pathetic
What a pathetic, aneomic display from so called professional footballers, all it took for Chelsea to win was a spine an ability to play counter attack football. Ozil, was it too late at night for you to even try and run around? Really doesn’t matter who is in charge the DNA = looser!
Unhappy Gooner
Well done Chelsea. Arsenal had their chances, but Chelsea exploited our weakness (Maitland-Niles, his mistakes gave Chelsea 3 goals). Also, slow clap for Ozil who could not have walked off slower when substituted.
Only as strong as the weakest link, and we’ve a couple of weak links.
Michael, Dublin
Mystery wrapped in an Iwobi
Can any Arsenal fans explain Alex Iwobi? I’ve seen him play about a dozen times and I’ve still got no idea if he’s any good.
Last night he came on as a sub, immediately skinned a midfielder and won a free kick in a dangerous position, getting Christensen booked in the process. Then he scores off the free kick, giving his team a chance of making a game of it and… didn’t seem to touch the ball again for the rest of the match.
Seriously, what’s his craic?
David, Sunderland (Willock looks a good prospect if he learns how to shoot mind)
It’s not all bad
Chelsea were the better side in the second half and deserved to win, especially for the superb Eden Hazard. He has throughout the years tortured Arsenal and whilst I am glad to see him go, Real Madrid will benefit for a wonderful footballer.
We are clearly a team in transistion and need more cash from our silent owner to improve the midfield quality and defence.
The manager, Unai Emery has done an excellent job and deserves more time to improve us a teacm, tactically and skill wise, His coaching and his support team has been terrific and does not deserve little carping from the so called Arsenal legends, like Keown, Wright, Adams, Petit, who although entitled to their views; together do not have the managerment skill to manage at this level.
We are clearly where we belong, So let us get behind the team after wiping away a tear and acknowledging our strengths and weakenesses, get behind the team to go again.
Tony Laforce
Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim…
Dear Mailbox,
Just finished watching the Europa League final, here are some thoughts:
That stadium really looked empty and sounded hollow. A shame for such a grand occasion (a cup final still is a cup final).
Arsenal selling Giroud to Chelsea must go down as the worst mistake they’ve ever made in recent history. Giroud would’ve been an excellent Plan B during the Sanchez and Walcott striking years. He would even be happy to be part of a rotating squad. He would definitely be the perfect foil for both Aubameyang and Lacazette, while also providing a Plan B and an option for different formations, the perfect team player if you will, and Arsenal certainly needs one of those. I mean, sell Giroud because you want to have Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott playing strikers with Welbeck as backup? Really?
Has Cech ever had a convincing game in an Arsenal shirt? Surely not during any important games, because it seems like he was finished at the top most level since his last few Chelsea years when he was displaced by Courtois. Szczęsny may not turn out to be a world beater at that time (still) but selling him to Juventus for peanuts must rank no.2 as one of the worst mistakes Arsenal has ever made in recent history.
What has happened to Ozil? He doesn’t even look like 10% of the player Arsenal saw in his first season with them, and even then he was inconsistent.
I think Arsenal’s formation didn’t work out tonight. True, in the first half their plan worked and they were able to contain Chelsea’s threat relatively well. But that’s all there is to it, they had no plan going forward and the midfield was bypassed way too easily. I think a 4-3-3 would have worked better but Emery probably couldn’t deploy that strategy effectively from the start with the personnel he had at this time.
I have no doubt that Ramsey and Mkhitaryan was missed during the final, but I believe even with them available, this Arsenal side would’ve been overrun and outfought. This Arsenal team just cannot handle any setback, they respond to in-game setback with nervousness, panic and desperation. Something needs to change.
Koscielny has started to show signs of rapid decline and Sokratis isn’t exactly rock solid either. Don’t even mention Mustafi. Oh how I miss Holding now, I hope him and Bellerin will recover quickly when he returns from injury.
I may be wrong, but Kepa’s trip on Lacazette was definitely a penalty, possibly a card as well. That the referee came to his decision without any help was suspicious.
It is a well known fact that Xhaka is a slow and impulsive player. He also has terrible match awareness and produces errors like bunnies in heat. He now seems to have a new found aura that inspires extreme panic among his teammates. Get rid of him. Mustafi might have been a better buy.
Aubameyang is an athletic and talented finisher. But that’s all he is. He does not seem to have the kind of magic star players tend to produce when their team needs them to do it. Hazard does exactly that for Chelsea. So does Pogba for Man Utd when he can be arsed. Or Salah / Sane / Firmino / Alexander-Arnold for Liverpool. And Son / Kane / Eriksen for Spurs. Even Rondon at Newcastle. Aubameyang needs his team to help him perform, and when his teammates are in dire straights, he gets swept along with it.
Lacazette on the other hand, seems to have the potential to grow into the kind of key player every other top team has and that Arsenal needs. Ozil and Sanchez were supposed to become those players, the former possibly fell into some sort of bizarre conceitedness and the latter left for greed. Please don’t make another mistake by letting Lacazette leave.
Iwobi’s strike to claw one back for Arsenal was a belter, makes me wonder why he didn’t start as he was way more effective than Ozil in his short appearance.
Although not at Man Utd’s level of f*cked, it looks to me that this Arsenal squad is quite imbalanced and requires extensive surgery. There’s just too much deadwood / declining players / players who don’t fit in the manager’s vision of his squad. Here’s hoping the board can back Emery for a few windows and allow him to build a team in his own image, otherwise he’ll always have both hands tied behind his back.
Oh did I mention I’m a Giroud fan?
Yours truly,
Rage
Chelsea played too…
What a performance we put on last night! If that was Eden Hazard’s last game for us then all I can say is thank you for the memories and your commitment to our club.
The first half was quite bland but we came out all guns blazing in the second half, finished our chances and even after Arsenal pulled one back we didn’t crumble, we bagged a 4th, so proud of the team, especially with all the injuries we had.
3 European trophies in 7 years is something special.
Mikey, CFC (What a stunner from Iwobi as well)
Another season, another Chelsea trophy! Is there any other club in football that takes so much pleasure in flipping the bird to anyone who even attempts to analyse them rationally?
You think Chelsea are title contenders? Watch us melt down and implode spectacularly!
You think Chelsea won’t qualify for the Champion’s League? Watch us finish third and win the Europa League!
Many talk about there being no defining characteristic or style that can explain what kind of a club Chelsea is. Well this is the kind of club we are: we win trophies.
This is all happening amidst chaos: speculations of players leaving, the manager leaving, a senior player publicly airing his dirty laundry, a junior player refusing to the leave the pitch after being substituted, the media clamouring for the manager’s head, a section of fans booing the manager, so on and so forth.
Some say that Chelsea function because of the chaos, random variables aligning themselves in the right way at various points of time, leading to trophies and glory.
I, for one, believe that we thrive despite the chaos. And so, I hope Sarri stays and in a year or two, Chelsea will be back where we belong, challenging for the title.
Preetish, Munich (Or a spectacular implosion is in the works and Lampard’s called in and we win the Champions league only to sack him a few months later. You never know)
” Chelsea, even at a point of absolute triumph, are baffling”
This line from today’s 16 conclusions made me smile and is exactly the reason why I love this club.
Nanmaran
At least Rob Green and Gary Cahill seemed to enjoy themselves.
Mark (Hrochot, Slovakia)
Sarri (not Sarri)
You can’t argue with it. Even though the fans have been against the manager all season (I’m not saying that is right or wrong I am not in a position to judge as a Liverpool fan) All the stuff about Callum Hudson Odoi going to Bayern, Hazard potentially leaving and a transfer ban; The Abramovich era has another trophy and let’s face it, in this game that’s all that goes in the history books and it’s all that is relevant when people talk years down the line.
Ryan, Liverpool
I would just like to say to the Sarri haters: (a) you were wrong and (b) get stuffed.
Luke, London, CFC
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2019-05-30 09:29:05Z
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