June 8th, 2013
Ivan Gazidis takes a lot of stick from Arsenal fans. Our perceived lack of ambition is generally pinned on the multi-accented CEO, who is free of the emotional complications most reasonable fans still feel with regards to Arsene Wenger.
The refrain was heard frequently at the Emirates last year: “Ivan Gazidis, what do you do?â€
In the light of this week’s extensive Q&A, I’d like to pose a response: what more can he do?
Gazidis’ primary duty has been to put the club on a secure financial footing. With the new commercial deals signed and settled, he has done that. It is not Gazidis’ responsibility to decide how that money is spent. It is Arsene’s.
Gazidis has been explicit. There are funds available. Big funds. Here are a few choice excerpts from Thursday’s mission statement:
“Could we spend £25m on a player and pay him £200k p/week? Of course we could do that. We could do more than that. We have a certain amount which we’ve held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you.
The key to this summer is going to be making the right decisions without damaging the great team unity and spirit which we have – adding to that appropriately and I think we have the right person to do that in Arsene. I think he will make the right decisions and I think we will go into this next season with a lot of excitement around the team.
So certainly we will take a step forward this summer, how bigger step will depend on how well we are able to execute over the next month or two.”
It’s bold stuff. As a fan, it’s impossible not to be excited by Gazidis’ words. The financial landscape has shifted, and Arsenal have been raised aloft to join the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Dreams become plausible. Before yesterday I would have dismissed the link to £20m Gonzalo Higuain as ‘pie in the sky’ stuff. Now, it’s tempting to believe we might just pull it off.
If there’s a nagging concern, it’s that Arsene may not be able to shake the shackles of a decade of prudence. Talk remains cheap. Arsenal are using the rhetoric of a super-club. Now they need to act like one, too.
A significant part of yesterday’s news was Gazidis’ allusion to a new contract for Arsene. Personally, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to hand him a new deal. The final day euphoria has masked an otherwise disappointing season. The club’s trajectory is worrying. I’d have waited to see how Arsene fared this summer and in the first part of next season before broaching the subject a new contract.
Some will argue it’s vital to have a manager tied to a long-term deal to win over new signings. That’s nonsense. Robin van Persie joined Manchester United with no guarantees over Alex Ferguson’s future. Similarly, the players who come and go at Chelsea care little about the short-term tenancy agreements of the Stamford Bridge dugout.
In modern football, few players are a disciple to any one managerial messiah. Money and medals matter far more.
Perhaps Gazidis feels it’s important to present a united front. I can understand that, with a couple of caveats.
The first is that this contract must be breakable. Conventionally, a three year deal for Arsene means exactly that: three years. In his Arsenal career to date, it’s been explicitly clear he’d never be sacked and similarly that Wenger himself would never walk away from a contract.
With that in mind, if our downward trajectory continues, his signature could swiftly become a sentence. If Gazidis and Wenger agree a new medium-term contract, it must be on the understanding that it may have to be suddenly cut short if things don’t improve.
The second stipulation is that Gazidis and Wenger have already had a discussion about transfer targets in which the manager has show willingness to break a habit and actually spend what is available to him.
Gazidis has done his job. Player recruitment is Wenger’s bag.
Over to you, Arsene.
April 23rd, 2013
If you’ve played Football Manager or FIFA 13, you might think you know how the transfer window works.
You’d be wrong.
The common perception is that it is an activity led by the clubs. They identify the players and then make an official approach to the appropriate chairmen.
In reality, it is rarely such a streamlined process. Transfers are conducted primarily through agents and middle-men. Take the case of Robin van Persie’s protracted move to Manchester United: the finer details of his contract would have been all but agreed before there was any official contact between United and Arsenal themselves.
Even the occasionally naive board at Arsenal are savvy enough to understand the way things work. That is why they, along with almost every other Premier League club, issue a ‘Player requirements’ list to Europe’s major football agents on the eve of every transfer window.
Each summer, the offices of agents are laden with spread-sheets and post-its detailing the individual needs of every Premier League club. They then play cupid, matching players with itchy feet to clubs with bulging budgets, and taking their 5% off the top as recompense.
Sometimes Arsenal are able to rely purely on the work of their extensive scouting team. Sometimes they are prepared to take a punt on a player proposed by an agent. It varies year on year, but the briefing they have put out ahead of this window gives us an insight as to what might happen this summer.
It’s another hugely important transfer window for the club. When United took Van Persie, the gap between them and us United widened agonizingly, like a freshly-cut Chelsea smile. Seeing them celebrate winning the Premier League last night, crowned with a Van Persie hat-trick, was agonizing. The Dutchman will face a cauldron of hate at the Emirates on Sunday, but will wear the armour of triumph and conviction. If we’re to stand any chance of reeling United in any time soon we need to improve the squad significantly.
My understanding is that Arsenal’s list reads very simply:
- CENTRE-BACK
- CENTRAL MIDFIELDER
- STRIKER
My immediate reaction is surprise that the list doesn’t include a goalkeeper and a right-back. Perhaps Arsene Wenger has more faith in Wojciech Szczesny than we think, and perhaps Bacary Sagna is closer to a signing a new contract than we previously imagined.
It’s equally possible that these positions haven’t been mentioned as Arsenal have already identified and approached the players they wish to bring in to fill those roles.
What we can gather is that Arsenal are looking for a new spine.
CENTRE-BACKÂ
This one shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Arsene Wenger is fond of telling anyone who’ll listen that we have three top quality centre-backs. However, one of those (Thomas Vermaelen) has had such a poor season that he isn’t trusted to start despite the fact he is supposedly the team’s captain. Furthermore, beyond the trio of Vermaelen, Koscielny and Mertesacker, we are woefully short of depth.
Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci are likely to depart the club in the summer, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vermaelen join them. Typically, Arsenal lose at least one major player each summer, and this year could be Vermaelen’s turn. The Belgian’s stock is still high enough for him to earn a move to one of Europe’s glamour clubs, and Arsene might see this as an ideal time to cash in on a player who has under-performed for more than a year now.
I have no idea who Arsenal will look to bring in. Ashley Williams has been mentioned and would certainly make sense, although I suspect he’ll be reunited with his former boss Brendan Rogers at Liverpool. A player with that kind of Premier League experience would be useful though. Wenger must surely regret not going the extra mile to secure the signature of a young Gary Cahill from Bolton two years ago.
CENTRAL MIDFIELDERÂ
When Arsenal sold Alex Song to Barcelona, Arsene Wenger elected to replace him with a repositioned Mikel Arteta and a rehabilitated Abou Diaby.
While Arteta has generally been consistent in the ‘pivote’ role – only Santi Cazorla has started more games this season – Diaby has spent the majority of the season injured before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament at a crucial point in one of his many ‘come-backs’.
The good news is that Arsene Wenger has already identified his replacement. My understanding is that preliminary talks are taking place as early as this week between Arsenal and representatives for the Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons.
Gonalons is a 24-year old France international, who was made Lyon captain by former-Gunner Remi Garde this year. Garde and Wenger are still close, and it seems that the former may have a given Gonalons a glowing reference. He’s been linked several times in the press, but from what I’m told this has developed beyond the usual transfer tittle-tattle.
This is certainly one to watch as the summer approaches.
STRIKER
Our greatest need is for a new centre-forward.
Olivier Giroud has had a good first season in English football, but it’s clear we require an alternative to the powerful Frenchman. With Giroud hoping to kick on in his second campaign, it will be tempting for Arsene to bring in someone who can play second fiddle to the handsome target man.
However, as I said on last week’s arseblog arsecast, my ideal would be to bring in a marquee name. A big signing would help fill the aching void still left after Van Persie’s departure, and transform the atmosphere around the club. As for Giroud: if he is going to develop in to the player we need him to be, he will respond to the increased competition and fight for his spot.
Stefan Jovetic is the name being linked most frequently in the press, and you can understand why. He is a different type of forward to Giroud – mobile, inventive and technically-gifted. He offers a similarly diverse threat to that of Luis Suarez, only without the biting.
Manchester United have shown the value of adding a star striker to your ranks. Let’s hope Arsenal follow suit this summer.
February 11th, 2013
Sunderland 0 – 1 Arsenal
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
This win was absolutely essential…
With Chelsea and Spurs both picking up wins, it was vital that we maintained the pace in the race for Champions League qualification. The next month or so sees us face both Tottenham and Everton, sandwiched by cup ties with Blackburn and Bayern. We are entering the period that will define our season, and momentum is crucial.
In the first half, Arsene’s tactical tweak worked a treat…
I was very surprised to see Lukas Podolski on the bench again, with Aaron Ramsey handed a start. However, Arsenal’s midfield dominated the game, and there was a slightly different shape in evidence too.
Ramsey sat in a deeper role alongside Arteta. Jack was playing as the advanced midfielder, with Cazorla ostensibly starting from the left-wing. In truth, Cazorla spent almost the entire game playing inside, combing with Jack and the strikers. It was a less a midfield three and more of a four, replicating the ‘magic square’ that the Brazil national team have been known to use.
Wilshere’s injury changed the game…
Jack’s combination play with Santi had been mesmerising. When we lost Wilshere, we also lost our way a little bit. It was noticeable too that Sunderland improved significantly when they replaced the thuggish Cattermole with the more technical Larsson.
This game highlighted the gulf between Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson…
I appreciate that Carl only knew he was playing 15 minutes before kick-off. I also appreciate that we came across a referee who seemed only too happy to hand out cards to our players while letting their Sunderland equivalents get away with (attempted) murder.
Despite that, Carl Jenkinson’s sending off was very silly indeed. Having picked up a booking inside the first ten minutes, he was always walking a tight-rope. When walking a tight-rope of any kind, it is not advisable to make any sudden lunges. Unfortunately, Carl did just that at Stephane Sessegnon, and a second yellow duly followed.
By contrast, Bacary Sagna was a rock at centre-back. Like Jenkinson, he didn’t know what role he’d be playing until shortly before kick-off. Unlike Jenkinson, he excelled.
I think some of the criticism aimed at Sagna in recent weeks has been extremely harsh. Yes, his recent performances have fallen below his own impeccable standards, but he remains one of our best players.
The idea that Jenkinson is ready to displace Sagna is nonsense. I for one hope that we keep the Frenchman by giving him the long-term deal he craves. If he leaves this summer, as appears increasingly likely, we’ll need to bring in someone with the requisite experience to fill that spot.
I love Carl, but a few good games earlier this season do not make him an international class defender.
The whole defence deserve credit…
Nacho Monreal coped well, Per Mertesacker organised an unfamiliar defence, and Wojciech Szczesny had his best game of the season. Aaron Ramsey also deserves enormous credit for filling in superbly at right-back when required.
Our finishing…
…ought to have been better. Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla both squandered glaring opportunities to seal the game on the counter. Fortunately, we were able to fall back on an outstanding defensive display to get the three points.
Some thoughts on Andre Santos…
As I write this it seems the “false three†is on the verge of joining Gremio on loan. It’s remarkable to think that on the final day of last season, he was preferred to Kieran Gibbs and scored a crucial goal in our ascension to the Champions League places.
His fall since then has been spectacular. I can’t help but feel that the infamous shirt swap incident with Robin van Persie was a huge catalyst towards his departure. On that day, he lost the fans, and it’s almost impossible to come back from that – just ask Emmanuel Eboue or Nicklas Bendtner. Every mistake is highlighted; every indiscretion scrutinised. I’m not sure that Santos has been more error-prone than many of our other defenders, but the tide turned against him on that November day.
I wish him all the best. He seems like a very decent guy, if not a great defender.
I also have to question our policy of continually weakening our squad. When Arsene signed Nacho Monreal, he suggested it was because he needed two left-backs at all times. Why has that changed in the space of ten days?
The fact we’re playing Sagna at centre-back suggests that loaning Djourou out probably wasn’t the smartest move. I hope we don’t pay for allowing other players to leave at a time when it’s impossible to replace them.
February 1st, 2013
To my immense surprise, Arsenal bought a player yesterday.
And not just any player. Several friends whose opinion I value highly sought me out to tell me just what a good player Arsenal have got. To be fair, his CV speaks for itself: Nacho Monreal is a Spanish international at the peak of his career.
Were it not for an injury to Kieran Gibbs on the eve of the transfer window, I doubt anyone would have arrived. Arsene Wenger revealed in his press conference today that Gibbs could miss as many as eight weeks with a thigh problem, and the prospect of relying on Andre Santos for that crucial period of the season was obviously not something the manage was prepared to face.
It shows you how swiftly a deal can be done when there’s a bit of urgency. I have spent most of this window frustrated with Arsene’s reluctance to enter the market. He seems to have fallen out of love with the entire idea of transfers; his recent quotes suggest he finds them dirty and a bit sordid. He views them as the ugly side of football – a side he would rather not engage with.
His relationship with the market seems to have been irrevocably soured by the sages over the likes of Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie. Meantime many of his own signings have floundered. In the last few years, transfers have been more hurtful than helpful.
He’s wrong to be dismissive of transfers. People rightly laugh at cheque-book managers, but good recruitment is a skill. There are deficiencies in Arsenal’s squad and a club with our resources ought to be able to correct them.
Monreal is a great start. I would have liked to have seen him supplemented by a defensive midfielder and a striker, but despite reported bids for Etienne Capoue and David Villa, it wasn’t to be.
We’ve been allowed to get away with it, though. I expected our rivals for fourth place, Spurs and Everton, to make significant additions in this window. Instead, Tottenham only added Lewis Holtby, failing to sign the striker or holding midfielder they plainly need. Everton, meanwhile, got an England U-19 International defender and missed out on ambitious moves for Alvaro Negredo and Leroy Fer.
I expected both clubs to consolidate their strong league position with a few speculative purchases. Instead, they’ve allowed us right back in to the game.
No-one predicted the signing of Monreal. However, as usual with Arsene Wenger, there were clues. A few days ago, he said of the January window:
“It’s a market for me that is a wrong transfer market because the only teams who sell players are teams in financial trouble.”
His sympathy obviously only extends so far, as he returned to the club from whom he stole Santi Cazorla, debt-ridden Malaga, to take another top talent.
It’s unusual for Arsene Wenger to sign a player who provides genuine competition for an established first-team player. His squads usually have quite a rigid hierarchy, with a clear first XI and then a set of reserves. Nacho Monreal breaks that mould: he has not come here to play second fiddle to Kieran Gibbs. Once Gibbs is fit again, there will be a genuine tussle between these those two.
That is how it should be. Competition is healthy, and important. Has the emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seen a decline in the form of Theo Walcott? Quite the opposite.
For the first time in a long time, Arsene Wenger may have the option of rotating a member of his defence without significantly weakening the side.
For now, however, Monreal has the left-back slot to himself. He is cup-tied for the European clash with Bayern Munich, but I expect him to slot straight in for tomorrow’s Premier League tie with Stoke.
Let’s just hope the orcs don’t end up feasting on Nacho.
January 11th, 2013
I don’t know why this blog is called a Transfer Update. Â There are no transfers to update you on, really. Â I’m writing it in the immediate aftermath of reading some truly baffling quotes from Arsene Wenger.
I’ve studied Arsene for more than ten years. Â In the last few seasons, I’ve watched every one of his press conferences. Â I have grown accustomed to his verbal ticks and repetitious rhetoric. Â In recent months, amidst all the familiar traits – the wit, the charm, the searing analytical brain – I have seen a new trait creepy ominously in: doubt.
It used to be that when Arsene spoke about transfers in the press, you could write it off as bluff. Â Bluff, however, is grounded in logic. Arsene’s recent words are those of a man who can’t quite make up his mind.
This very morning, he said:
“In England you are always under pressure to buy. We are still working in the transfer market but we only want exceptional players … Our squad is quite complete already.”
This comes just over a week after he told the media:
“I will be active, yes. Will I be concrete? I hope so. We are looking everywhere.”
The conviction is gone. Â It’s a trend that’s not unfamiliar to those who’ve had to deal with Arsene Wenger in recent months. Â Ask any agent who has spoken to him about a potential signing: his reaction is never more than lukewarm, never without caveats. Â Despite the fact his Arsenal squad continues to to convince, the man solely responsible for recruitment is not sufficiently convinced by anyone outside it.
Meanwhile, through our gloomy transfer window, we watch good players come and go.  We know Arsene admired Demba Ba, but he decided not to move for him based on a fairly spurious belief that he was too similar to the significantly less predatory Olivier Giroud.  Arsenal scouts have watched Wilfried Zaha for months, but it seems the player will be allowed to join Manchester United uncontested.
The consequence for Arsenal is crippling inactivity. Â Arsene sets a bar of “super super quality”, and sets about looking for a player to ease his own apprehensions about entering the market. Â Such a player, of course, does not exist. Â Arsenal procede to do nothing. Â Perhaps, in a final scramble and with need for sheer numbers, they sign a player out of panic who is not good enough. Â They then spend the next few transfer windows struggling to offload this player from their wage bill, hampering their financial potential, and so the cycle continues.
If you know who you want, January is not a complicated time to do a deal: Liverpool went and signed up Daniel Sturridge before the window was even open. Â The club are not prohibited from looking for potential signings in the months between August and December. Â If they haven’t found anyone of the requisite “quality” by now, I have no faith that they will do so in the coming few weeks.
Forgive me if this sounds a little over the top. Â I am merely struggling to understand how an unconvincing draw with Swansea has done so much to erase Arsene’s belief that this team needs reinforcement. Â Our rivals will doubtless continue to improve around us, so we ought to push on and do the same. Â If we don’t, there is a very real risk that we will fail to achieve our basic goal for the season: Champions League qualification.
If our squad is “complete”, then why are Arsenal sixth?
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