Arsenal 2013-2014: Insufferable & Unsuccessful -- And Worse than Chelsea

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sachmoney

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Arsenal had to fight hard for fourth place, having to win 26 out of 30 points in the run up to secure Champions League football. The finish took a phenomenal run of form, though the competition may have been lightweight on the way. With a squad full of spirit and the disgruntled on their way out of town, there may be some optimism at the Emirates. 
 
Part of that does fall on the promise to spend. We've heard this before right? Arsenal have XX million in ready to be spent on new players. What's happened? Players have gone out. They've been replaced. One step forward, two steps back and a torrid finish needed to save the day? 
 
Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see. The kitty this year is said to be a £70-100 million with some of the rumored players being Jovetic, Fabregas, Rooney, Strootman, and Higauin. Plenty of names to get our hopes up!
 
Whatever, let's have fun! COYG!
 

mikeford

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Out:
 
- Bendtner
- Arshavin
- Denilson
- Fabianski?
- Sagna?
- Gervinho?
- Chamakh?
- Verm?
 
 
In:
- Yaya Sanogo?
- Stevan Jovetic?
- Cesc?
 
 
 
Needs:
World class striker
CAM
DM
GK
Possibly RB if Sagna is sold
Possibly 3rd CB if Verm is sold
 

sachmoney

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As mentioned in the two posts above, Arsenal is linked with a billion players. For me, it's all conjecture at this point. Arsenal is an easy team to use to garner interest for players. The Jovetic link has been the most entertaining thus far as it seems as though Arsenal haven't even made contact. It seems more of a ploy to keep him out of Juve's hands.
 
The one player that we've actually seen Arsene mention interest in is Clement Grenier of Lyon. He's a 22 year old midfielder that was just called up by Les Bleus. I really don't know much about him, but he has had a couple of nice long strike goals in Ligue 1. Wenger said he likes his play and that he reminds him of Samir Nasri. Let's hope that, if he does sign up, he has a better attitude than Nasri. Lyon, for their part, don't want to sell. I also heard somewhere that they want much than the £8 million rumored in those two articles. He seems to be the only player that Wenger has outwardly expressed interest in so far, and that's why it's worth keeping an eye on.
 

mikeford

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Rooney's main problem appears to be not being the main man. Was in the shadow of RVN, CR9 and now RVP... only times he's been happy and motivated at United seems like the times when he's been the top dog.
 
 
Well he'd sure as fuck be the top dog here. 
 
Its a massive risk... one I wouldn't personally undertake if I'm Wenger and I'm angling for a contract extension... but lets not act like its a braindead move or something. 
 
 
 
 
 
Cesc responded to transfer rumors today basically saying "I'm staying at Barca" so I guess we'll cross that pipedream off the list for the summer. 
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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mikeford said:
Rooney's main problem appears to be not being the main man. Was in the shadow of RVN, CR9 and now RVP... only times he's been happy and motivated at United seems like the times when he's been the top dog.
 
 
Well he'd sure as fuck be the top dog here. 
 
Its a massive risk... one I wouldn't personally undertake if I'm Wenger and I'm angling for a contract extension... but lets not act like its a braindead move or something. 
 
Obviously cost is an issue and perhaps a prohibitive one.  But how could you not want Rooney if you're Wenger (or an Arsenal fan)?  He's exactly the kind of versatile world class attacking talent (up front or in the hole behind Giroud) that could push that team to the next level.  I'd take him over Fabregas any day.
 

mikeford

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Comparing the 2 is apples and oranges, IMO. One plays 1st chair violin and the other conducts the whole orchestra. 
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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mikeford said:
Comparing the 2 is apples and oranges, IMO. One plays 1st chair violin and the other conducts the whole orchestra. 
 
Exactly.  This team doesn't need an orange, even the orange on which legions of Arsenal fans maintain the greatest of mancrushes.  What it needs is a world class apple, even if the thought of that apple makes the support want to vomit.
 

mikeford

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I feel fairly confident in saying we need both. No one in the current midfield sees the field very well for the final ball and outside of Santi everyone suuuuuuuucks at scoring goals.
 

sachmoney

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Just a quick update, Gazidis says we have the financial clout
 "We have a certain amount of money which we have held in reserve," Gazidis said.
"We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you, but what excites Arsene isn't necessarily what excites you.
"This year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time - the escalation in our financial firepower.
"That is going to happen partly into next season, it is part way available now in the summer, but the following season as well.
"It is a progression over the next two seasons and is quite
Your move, Arsene. Higuain? May be?  There's also been a lot of of Fellaini ($). Those would be two good additions to the squad. I still feel that they'd lack that something special, but those two could put Arsenal in the second/third conversation. We'll see if the big splash is out there.
 

sachmoney

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Gazidis has a Q&A later. With his recent comments about financial clout, it will be interesting to see what he says. The questions are pre-vetted, so the answers will probably be prepared as well. Either way, I want to see if he backs down on those claims at all. I think those comments have or should have put a lot of pressure on the club to buy. We'll see on both his comments and what the club does this Summer.
 

sachmoney

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Since everyone else is talking about the schedules, perhaps we should too.
 
Key Fixtures:
August 31: NLD at the Emirates
November 9: United at Old Trafford
December 14 and 21: City away, followed by a visit from Jose's Chelsea
February 11: Arsenal host United
Last 3 fixtures in March: NLD away, Chelsea away, City at the Emirates
 
Takes: There are a couple of rough patches in the schedule, particularly that one in late March. I like the schedule. 
 
The start of the season is excellent, I think:
 
Villa (H)
Fulham (A)
Spurs (H)
Sunderland (A)
Stoke (H)
Swansea (A)
West Brom (A)
Norwich (H)
Palace (A)
 
So nine matches into the season, Arsenal really should have at least 21-23 points on the board - and for a team in Arsenal's position, it's much tougher to come back from an early points deficit than it is to start strong and try to build on early momentum. (Arsenal obviously have the two-legged Champions League qualifier to play in there as well; again, you'd rather have easier league fixtures on either side of the CL games if you can help it.)
 
What do others think about a potential Higuain signing? Would he qualify as the quality striker (i.e., RvP replacement) Arsenal needs?
 
[edit: typo]
 

mikeford

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Our fixture list can suck a fart out of my asshole. We have an away game after EVERY ONE of our hypothetical UCL group stage matches.
 
That SUCKS.
 
 
John Cross from the Mirror is talking about Arsenal reaching personal terms with Higuain. We'll see, I guess.
 

sachmoney

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If the papers are to believed, Arsenal has agreed to a deal for Higuaín, but it's a matter of Madrid naming their new manager, which is also dependent on PSG finding a manager since Ancelotti is coming from there and has a year left on his contract. If it does happen, Higuaín would be Arsenal's record signing and a mighty fine addition to the Premier League.
 
According to the Daily coughFailcough, Usmanov wants Rooney at Arsenal (The Mirror, which IMO is more credible for Arsenal news also says this). I don't see it happening.I don't see him going to Chelsea either. I don't see how Moyes can come in and one of the first moves he makes is to sell his biggest star (not best player, biggest star) to a rival. I think Rooney's destination, if he leaves, is likely abroad. The dude wants to play central striker and Arsenal appear to be on the verge of bringing a central striker in. I don't see him at Arsenal.
 
Higuaín, a midfielder (Fellaini?), and a defender without anyone [important] departing would be a very solid Summer IMO. Even mikeford would agree with that, no?
 

sachmoney

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I remember last year, Arsenal was on the verge of signing Santi at the end of a week and decided not to announce it until the start of next week. There are a lot of rumors going on about Higuain, some saying that Real has decided to keep him. Others saying that he passed his medical. We'll see what's up, I guess.
 

sachmoney

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The new away kits are awesome. Arsenal played an Asian all-star team and won as you'd expect a Premier League team to do. 7-0 nonetheless. The team is in Vietnam now. The next pre-season friendly is on Monday.
 

sachmoney

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I thought Arsenal's friendly was on Monday. It turned out it was this morning. Vietnam XI 1-7 Arsenal. Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6cOXTKAKfY&sns=tw
Giroud with the hat trick. He has 5 goals in 2 games. What was particularly impressive about his goals today were that they were all scored with his feet. His second and third goals were very nice. Rosicky, who has been awesome in these two games, played a nice ball through to him on the first goal. Akpom also netted a brace. I'm guessing he and Sanogo will fight for CarlLeague Cup time. Akpom now has 3 goals in preseason. The guys who've been on the tour have been playing well, obviously against lesser competition. You've got to be encouraged by that, but I'm still waiting for reinforcements. 
 
Of note today, Sagna started at CB. While I don't see this as a permanent solution to depth issues at CB, especially if Vermaelen is out, I do see this as a potential option. Sagna's best game of last season was at CB, IMO. It's better to give him some time there now during preseason, so you don't have to just throw him into the position when it is needed. He gets a chance to adjust and learn the nuances of the position when the games don't matter. WIth Jenkinson pushing him at right back, it makes sense. I definitely think CB should be a transfer priority if Vermaelen is going to be out the speculated three months. 
 
EDIT: I'd also add that I can't believe the Vietnamese player got a yellow card for his celebration after the goal. It was a big moment. It's a preseason friendly. Nobody cares. It was great.
 
Arsenal's lack of high-profile transfer activity at this stage of the summer is, quite frankly, embarrassing. Even if the likes of Higuain/Suarez, a high-profile defensive midfielder, a solid center back and/or goalkeeping cover are on the way, why is the club waiting so long? Especially with Champions League qualifying required, you need to bed in your new boys and get them involved early...every day I keep waiting to hear something, anything, and yet here we are. Again.
 

sachmoney

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I wonder what kind of interest Arsenal is getting on this £70 million "war chest."
 
Emirates Cup this weekend. If you're in the Boston area, come watch the game at Lir. It should be fun.
 

Turrable

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sachmoney said:
I thought Arsenal's friendly was on Monday. It turned out it was this morning. Vietnam XI 1-7 Arsenal. Highlights:
 
Giroud with the hat trick. He has 5 goals in 2 games. What was particularly impressive about his goals today were that they were all scored with his feet. His second and third goals were very nice. Rosicky, who has been awesome in these two games, played a nice ball through to him on the first goal. Akpom also netted a brace. I'm guessing he and Sanogo will fight for CarlLeague Cup time. Akpom now has 3 goals in preseason. The guys who've been on the tour have been playing well, obviously against lesser competition. You've got to be encouraged by that, but I'm still waiting for reinforcements. 
 
Of note today, Sagna started at CB. While I don't see this as a permanent solution to depth issues at CB, especially if Vermaelen is out, I do see this as a potential option. Sagna's best game of last season was at CB, IMO. It's better to give him some time there now during preseason, so you don't have to just throw him into the position when it is needed. He gets a chance to adjust and learn the nuances of the position when the games don't matter. WIth Jenkinson pushing him at right back, it makes sense. I definitely think CB should be a transfer priority if Vermaelen is going to be out the speculated three months. 
 
EDIT: I'd also add that I can't believe the Vietnamese player got a yellow card for his celebration after the goal. It was a big moment. It's a preseason friendly. Nobody cares. It was great.
 
Keep an eye out for this kid, he went to high school locally and is buddies with one of my best friends.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib7It9zPhZI
 

sachmoney

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Yeah, I've been telling my friends that if he ends up making it big for Arsenal AND he gets into the USMNT, everyone is going to have his kit. The kid is really impressive because of his passing ability. I ripped Nasri while he was here because he was afraid to make that pass. He'd see the guy making the run, but he wouldn't make the pass because either he was afraid to give the ball away or he didn't have the ability. Zelalem appears to have both the vision and the balls to make the pass. He's being dubbed as the next Fabregas, but he's only 16 (the age Fabregas broke into the first team), so I'm tempering my excitement. Regardless, this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UCgp_lzZr8
and this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLAVhL43Tlo
are very impressive. The ball to Walcott especially. The thing is that Zelalem's very lightweight right now (as expected for a kid his age). He seems to operate better deeper in the midfield at the moment because he doesn't have to deal with the constant pressure of defenders and midfielders as he would in the CAM role. In the Emirates Cup, he came on for Santi and didn't really do much in the CAM role. It's hard to judge him off these three performances though. He'll grow. I expect him to feature prominently in the League Cup team and perhaps some League games.
 
He is of Ethiopian descent. Born in Germany and was a part of Hertha Berlin's youth academy. Moved to the US (Turrable County) at age 11. He's done trials with the club since 14 but couldn't move to Arsenal until this past year. I hadn't heard of him until preseason to be perfectly honest. 
 

sachmoney

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Beat City 3-1 today. Ramsey had a goal and an assist. Koscielny had a pretty solid game, save for getting overpowered on the goal by Negredo. Good, but not great performance, and the need for more players was pretty apparent. There is some good cohesion.
 
One of the guys who came in, Sebastian Perez, apparently might be signing after impressing on trial. He's 20 and plays for Atlético Nacional on the killer streets of Medellín. The other rumor is that Arsenal have had a bid accepted for Luis Gustavo for £14 million. That's what Gustavo's agent said on Austrian radio apparently. We'll see. Both could be potentially good signings. 
 

sachmoney

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For a while, I was worried that Ramsey would never get back to where he was before he met Stoke. His performances in the second half of last year were consistently good and he was one of the keys to the 26/30 finish. I know the opponents aren't the same in preseason (besides City), but his performances thus far have me hopeful that he's getting back up and exceeding the level that he was at before the injury. With the lack of transfers, improvement of players within the squad can make all the difference.
 
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/14/arsenal-wolfsburg-luiz-gustavo
 
Well OF COURSE Arsenal is going to miss out on signing a useful player. Arsene Wenger does know that it's not 1977 and you can't expect to use no more than 15 players all season, right? Do you think someone has offered him a rare Betamax tape of Jairzinho nutmegging three players in quick succession on the condition that he can only buy players named Yaya this summer? I've never been more stupefied by a club's activity during any given transfer window in my life.
 

Bailey10

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Glorious day in the history of Arsenal football club when you start losing battles for players to the likes of Wolfburg.
 

hube

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Wolfsburg has won a title more recently.

No idea what the club is up to this summer. It's an absolute joke.
 

DLew On Roids

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I've given Arsenal supporters here a lot of shit for the woe-is-me attitude, but this is a case where I just don't get it what Arsenal is doing. Last summer Arsenal brought in a pile of quality players early and I got the impression that Wenger had it figured out. This year, kind of like Moyes at Man U, he's become tied down looking for that one big player instead of improving the squad. I have to assume that last year's purchases weren't a new norm, but the choices of a guy who knew RvP was leaving and who needed more production ASAP or he'd be out of the Top Four (and maybe out altogether). That it was successful doesn't seem to have changed him; he's naturally conservative about spending big and doesn't want to trust a big name player.

The irony here is that the rot in the squad may do what he prevented last summer. Once you lose depth in the squad, it's hard to get it back. Trust me as a Liverpool fan; it might be the £40M players who win the league, but it's the lack of £8-12M players doing everything else that puts you in 7th place.
 

Luis Taint

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 Anyone know a Boston area bar to watch the Wed. match. Or any kind of place in the Boston area to watch next weeks 7:45am match. As fucking disappointed as I am right now, at our start, I will be even more livid if they don't do anything by next Saturday.
 

hube

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I think today was the last straw for many. I know I'm now of the opinion that Wenger's time has passed.
 

mikeford

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Luis Taint said:
 Anyone know a Boston area bar to watch the Wed. match. Or any kind of place in the Boston area to watch next weeks 7:45am match. As fucking disappointed as I am right now, at our start, I will be even more livid if they don't do anything by next Saturday.
Lir on Boylston is the Boston Arsenal bar
 

blueline

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I just can't fucking believe, outside of Sanogo, there have been no signings summer. I just can't even comprehend the incompetence. There is literally no explanation for it.
 

URI

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I do feel for you guys a bit, but more because fairly recently, my team was managed by a man who was so completely tone deaf that it defied explaination than because the normal "no-signings!!!" hand wringing.

For Wenger to imply that the lack of signings didn't have made a difference with yesterday's result a month after he botched the Higuain negotiations (who would have been just about as perfect a fit for you guys as possible) to the point where he gets to be Rafa's Argintine Torres would have been enough to throw me in a wall punching rage were he the manager of Spurs.
 

Spacemans Bong

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I never know what to think. There's so much BS out there in the transfer market and the media that we may have never been that interested in Luiz Gustavo, or Luiz Gustavo really digs bratwurst and was not interested in leaving the Fatherland.
 
I think a couple things are going wrong. I think our scouting has gone bad - Spurs in particular have made some signings (Vertonghen forever) that I'm almost positive trophy-winning Arsene Wenger would have been all over. We used to hit up the Dutch market consistently and we don't really seem to bother with that anymore, even though I'm pretty sure half the Ajax team is for sale. The French market is saturated.
 
I think we can't sign our targets either. We seem to assume that everybody is as rational or cheap as we are. Which actually makes not hitting the Dutch market even more infuriating, as Dutch clubs (especially Ajax) always get stick from their fans for selling off their players too cheaply. Vertonghen was player of the year and went for something like £8m.
 
But something has to give. Before there was always the plausibility there was no money. Nobody is even pretending that's the case now yet the mood around the club is more sour than it has been for 20 years.
 

dirtynine

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"You get what you pay for... unless you're an Arsenal fan."
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAC1D4tCISs
 
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