Arsenal’s Transfer Dealings: The Facts Against The Fiction

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Ever since the season ended, Arsenal fans have heard all kinds of rumours about potential targets. Here, I try and identify the hard facts, against all the “fiction” made up online and in the press.

So what is actually going on in the transfer market? Here are the only hard facts with their official sources:

So they are the only “facts” (say it in a Rafa Benitez voice) to come out so far, from the actual football clubs involved. As yet, there has been no word on transfers or deals from Arsenal, except for the signing of Sanogo.

And here are the “theories and rumours” that have been circulating Twitter, the Internet and the press:

  • Arsenal have already agreed a deal for Gonzalo Higuain for £22.5 million.
  • We’ve agreed a 3 year contract worth £130,000 a week.
  • Real Madrid are “haggling” on the price and holding out for more money.
  • Arsenal do not want to fork out an extra £2.5 million for Higuain.
  • Arsenal only bid on Luis Suarez to get Real Madrid to hurry up and sell Higuain to us.
  • Arsenal have bid for Marouane Fellaini, but aren’t willing to pay the release clause that he has on his contract (Arsenal want to pay £20 million, Everton want £23 million).
  • Arsenal are serious about bringing Wayne Rooney to The Emirates, smashing their transfer and wages records in the process.
  • Arsenal are interested in bringing in Fernando Torres and Gareth Barry to the club.
  • Real Madrid are willing to let Higuain join Tottenham in a part-exchange plus cash dead for Gareth Bale.
  • We’ve also been linked with Jovetic, but those rumours died a quick death.

I’m sure there’s countless more “news” that has been going around but that’s all I can think of for now.

So what do you make of that?

From what I’ve read, I pretty much thought the Higuain deal was 95% certain to happen. But the latest news from Real Mardid pretty much kills any optimism for that happening. Maybe Arsenal and Real Madrid are playing games? Who knows.

Many people have vented their frustration and anger at Arsene Wenger and the board, which at this stage is slightly unfair. While it does seem like Arsenal are penny-pinching in the transfer market, it is the media and press that are making up stories to sell newspapers and gain hits and unfortunatly we Arsenal fans, desperate for a new era where we actually recruit some world class players, are hungry for any positive developments.

I did find it strange however that Ivan Gazidis came out publicly and announced to the world they had a massive war chest and could spend mega money on wages. For a club that is usually so shrewd in transfer dealings, that was a stupid thing to come out with.

I don’t think I can take it anymore, maybe I should just lock myself up in dark room until the start of the season…

They say it’s not the disappointment that kills you, it’s the hope.

Final Poll Results: The Fans Want Arsene Wenger To Stay

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Yesterday, I posted a poll to gauge the feeling amongst Arsenal fans about Arsene Wenger’s tenure as Arsenal manager. Instead of a simple yes or no poll, I had a series of 8 different answers to see how fans felt. The question was “Should Arsene Wenger be the manager of Arsenal?”, and the possible answers were:

  • Yes, of course! He has done miracles at the club and is the only man for the club.
  • Yes, but if he doesn’t win anything in the next 3 years then we should look for someone else.
  • Yes, but only for this season. If we end up trophy-less again we should bring in someone else.
  • Yes, but he needs to bring in a defensive coach.
  • Yes, but he needs to bring in experienced players such as Bergkamp or Keown to help coach the team.
  • I’m not sure.
  • No, he has had 8 seasons to win something and hasn’t delivered.
  • We should have brought someone else in several seasons ago.

And with a total of 531 votes cast, the final results are below:

1. Yes, of course! He has done miracles at the club and is the only man for the club.
Final result: 33% (173 votes)

A massive 33% felt that Arsene Wenger is the only man for the job, based on the the work he has done over the last 17 years. With the number of Arsenal fans out there calling for Arsene’s head, this is surprising. Perhaps the people who want “Wenger Out” are just more vocal than people who are behind the Frenchman?

The result shows that the majority of people (with those who voted 2 and 3 – see below) are behind Arsene Wenger and the things he is trying to do.

2. Yes, but if he doesn’t win anything in the next 3 years then we should look for someone else.
Final result: 19% (100 votes)

Second in the voting is the opinion that while Arsene’s achievements should be admired, there is only so long fans can take without winning a trophy. It has been 8 seasons now without any silverware and this opinion shows that fans are willing to give the manager time to turn things around in regards to winning the major honours.

3. Yes, but only for this season. If we end up trophy-less again we should bring in someone else.
Final result: 17% (89 votes)

Close in third position is the feeling that Arsene Wenger deserves another season after all of the things he has achieved but if it ends up trophyless again then it’s time for a change. With the promise of a “massive warchest” at his disposal, fans feel that if he’s ever going to challenge for major honours then this is the time.

4. No, he has had 8 seasons to win something and hasn’t delivered.
Final result: 11% (61 votes)

This sums up the fans who feel that enough is enough. The last 8 seasons have been though, and although we put up a real challenge for the title until Eduardo’s injury at Birmingham, other seasons have been disappointing. There is a definitely a percentage of fans who think things won’t change under Wenger and it will be the same old story with him in charge.

= 5. Yes, but he needs to bring in experienced players such as Bergkamp or Keown to help coach the team.
Final result: 9% (48 votes)

= 5. We should have brought someone else in several seasons ago.
Final result: 9% (48 votes)

In joint 5th place are the opinions that Arsene needs to be less stubborn and bring in players/coaches such as Dennis Bergkamp and Martin Keown to help out, and the opinion that Wenger should have left several seasons ago. We know about Keown’s influence in the 2005/2006 season when we reached the Champions League final and bringing in some of the legends who were part of our most successful sides would help the current players and the manager, who would have another opinion to share.

The other feeling obviously shows some Arsenal fans have just had enough of Arsene.

6. I’m not sure
Final result: 1% (7 votes)

7. Yes, but he needs to bring in a defensive coach.
Final result: 1% (5 votes)

The last two results only registered a very small percentage of results that show people have strong opinions on way or the other. The lack of votes for bringing in a defensive coach are telling though, possibly showing that fans have a bit of faith in our defence after our excellent defensive record in the last 10 games of last season?

Is The Higuain Deal / TLTDTEW Dead in The Water?

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Only yesterday I posted about the Higuain “deal” and whether we should be worried at TLTDTEW (The Longest Transfer Deal That Ever Was) taking so long. Now, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has come out and said:

“We don’t want Higuaín to leave.

“What’s more no-one from Arsenal has come to us and made us any offers at all for him. There are no offers on the table.”

So what the hell is going on?

After our £30 million bid for Luis Suarez was rejected by Liverpool today, now we find out that possibly (and maybe Perez is playing mind games) that the deal for Gonzalo Higuain was never a realistic proposition in the first place!

In terms of Arsenal conducting themselves in the transfer market, they certainly are making fools out of themselves.

Unless Arsenal are actually serious about bringing in Luis Suarez and £30 million was just an opening bid?

Personally though, it seems like Arsenal are “flexing their muscle” in the transfer market, and have an excuse when we don’t bring anyone decent in the transfer window. Arsene can turn around and say “we tried to bring in world class players and offered big big money, but it was the selling clubs fault because they would not negotiate.”

Seriously, we might as well put in a big for Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi while we’re at it.

How can we manage to make things so difficult?

We should just be pleased that we’ve managed to wrap up the signing of superstar Yaya Sanogo…

I Don’t Want Luis Suarez at Arsenal – He’s Vastly Overrated

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As it becomes clear that Arsenal’s “bid” for Luis Suarez is a tactic to get the Gonzalo Higuain deal going, there is still a slight (and I mean slight) chance of Arsene being interested in him.

The problem is that he racially abused Patrice Evra a couple of seasons ago, and decided to “eat” Branislav Ivanovic last year. He is a serial diver and cheat, and for a club like Arsenal that has class, then buying him would be a nightmare.

And, this may be a controversial opinion, but I just don’t rate him at all.

He scored a lot of goals in Holland (but so did Meteja Kezman and Dirk Kuyt) and in England he scores goals but his record of 51 goals in 96 games is good but not world class.

And seeing him play, to me he is just frustrating. Luis Suarez constantly tries to take on players on the byline, sometimes manages to wriggle through and then he will shoot from the most ridiculous angle, which is finished by hitting the side netting. Sure he has the technically ability, but he’s just greedy.

And he is wasteful. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen him miss chance after chance. Yes, he scores some wonderful goals but he isn’t as clinical as people think. In fact, in terms of converting chances, he is actually the 23rd most clinical player in the Premier League, for players who have scored 5 or more goals last season.

That is shockingly poor.

This could be explained by his greedy play and not passing the ball, combined with the fact he likes to shoot from angles you wouldn’t even try if you were playing Fifa. If we’re using the Football Game analogy, then Luis Suarez thinks he’s playing Sensible Soccer.

When you consider players such as Le Fondre, Fletcher, Crouch, Lambert, Sturridge and Walters are more “clinical” than him, then it becomes clear how “effective” Suarez is in front of goal.

People will argue that “at least he gets into the positions to score” but I would argue Andy Cole was the same. It doesn’t change the fact that he still missed loads of chances though.

He does the tricks and flicks that please the fans and make nice YouTube compilations, but if we’re looking for a player to drastically improve Arsenal, then he is not our man.

£30 million? Please don’t even pretend to waste our money on Suarez, Arsene.

£30 Million Bid for Suarez Rejected – Arsenal The Laughing Stock of Transfer Market!

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With all of the rumours surrounding Gonzalo Higuain, Arsenal have pretty much stunned me by offering Liverpool £30 million for wantaway striker Luis Suarez which was instantly rejected.

This brings up a few questions:

  • Are Arsenal “trying” to buy Suarez because the Higuain deal is dead?
  • Are we putting in a fake bid for Suarez so Real Madrid won’t ask for more money?
  • Has Arsene (and this is hugely unlikely I know) got the idea that he needs two world class strikers?
  • Or, and this is probably the most likely – Are Arsenal completely useless when trying to buy top players and they’re trying to get these players less than their market value?

If Arsenal are putting in a bid of £30 million for a player, they clearly do have a warchest at their disposal. So this could mean that we were genuinely interested in players such as Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez, but the fact is we’re penny-pinchers and don’t want to pay the money that is required.

Essentially, it’s been so long since we’ve bought a top player that we’re trying to get them “on the cheap”.

As Arsenal fans grow increasingly frustrated with TLTDTEW, this latest rejected bid won’t do much to help the situation. With an already rejected bid for Lars Bender, it seems as if Arsenal are being made into a laughing stock in the transfer market.