So, Ox for 35mil, Sanchez for 60mil, Mustafi for 30mil, Perez for 10mil

[barrybueno]

I didn't know Perez, Mustafi and Gibbs had actually gone yet.

Just heard on the radio that Gibbs is gwan for £7m

Absolute 70's tho so maybe unreliable sauce bro...

[Ash]

Arsene Wenger is pig-headed to the point of mental illness because he doesn't make transfer decisions based on the rantings of halfwits?

OK mate.

Perhaps you can help me out as to why the following critique is the ranting of a half-wit:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was offered no new contract, or contract talks during the last year - the penultimate one of his contract. Partly because of this, it is reported, by the end of the season he had made up his mind that he wanted to leave the club and made this quite clear on a number of occasions. He also made it clear that he wished to play in midfield.

At this point AW suddenly announced that AOC was one of the most important players in the club, and for England, and wanted him to be a key component of his future plans, although he did not mention whether these plans included AOC playing in central midfield. AOC said again that he wanted to leave.

On the pitch, our right wing back was played out of position (and underwhelmed), and our shiny new left wing back (who looked good in pre-season) was played in central defence (with another left wingback as two of our remaining CBs are not good enough for the squad) so that Ox could play as right wingback. We lost the match and the next game the response was to drop Kolasinac (and Lacassette) and keep the want-away Ox, whose performances had not been too super, in the team in a position he doesn't want to play. We got spanked four nil and it might easily have been seven.

Now it seems AW has accepted that Ox is not going to stay and agreed to sell him to Chelsea, but they won't play him in midfield either so he refuses to go there, so we offered him to Liverpool who aren't offering us enough money, and now we have a day and a half to sort something out.

All this for a player who has said he wanted to leave while last season was still going on.

[Sir C]

Perhaps you can help me out as to why the following critique is the ranting of a half-wit:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was offered no new contract, or contract talks during the last year - the penultimate one of his contract. Partly because of this, it is reported, by the end of the season he had made up his mind that he wanted to leave the club and made this quite clear on a number of occasions. He also made it clear that he wished to play in midfield.

At this point AW suddenly announced that AOC was one of the most important players in the club, and for England, and wanted him to be a key component of his future plans, although he did not mention whether these plans included AOC playing in central midfield. AOC said again that he wanted to leave.

On the pitch, our right wing back was played out of position (and underwhelmed), and our shiny new left wing back (who looked good in pre-season) was played in central defence (with another left wingback as two of our remaining CBs are not good enough for the squad) so that Ox could play as right wingback. We lost the match and the next game the response was to drop Kolasinac (and Lacassette) and keep the want-away Ox, whose performances had not been too super, in the team in a position he doesn't want to play. We got spanked four nil and it might easily have been seven.

Now it seems AW has accepted that Ox is not going to stay and agreed to sell him to Chelsea, but they won't play him in midfield either so he refuses to go there, so we offered him to Liverpool who aren't offering us enough money, and now we have a day and a half to sort something out.

All this for a player who has said he wanted to leave while last season was still going on.

None of this suggest mental illness to me

I'm just tired of the hyperbole and intemperate language. It feeds off itself. There are people on this board who have been calling aw a **** for 10 years - now they're becoming apoplectic.

Like Antifa, Trump and identity politics, we live at a time when it would do a great deal of good if everyone sat down and thought quietly for a moment about exactly why they are so outraged.

[Peter]

Perhaps you can help me out as to why the following critique is the ranting of a half-wit:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was offered no new contract, or contract talks during the last year - the penultimate one of his contract. Partly because of this, it is reported, by the end of the season he had made up his mind that he wanted to leave the club and made this quite clear on a number of occasions. He also made it clear that he wished to play in midfield.

At this point AW suddenly announced that AOC was one of the most important players in the club, and for England, and wanted him to be a key component of his future plans, although he did not mention whether these plans included AOC playing in central midfield. AOC said again that he wanted to leave.

On the pitch, our right wing back was played out of position (and underwhelmed), and our shiny new left wing back (who looked good in pre-season) was played in central defence (with another left wingback as two of our remaining CBs are not good enough for the squad) so that Ox could play as right wingback. We lost the match and the next game the response was to drop Kolasinac (and Lacassette) and keep the want-away Ox, whose performances had not been too super, in the team in a position he doesn't want to play. We got spanked four nil and it might easily have been seven.

Now it seems AW has accepted that Ox is not going to stay and agreed to sell him to Chelsea, but they won't play him in midfield either so he refuses to go there, so we offered him to Liverpool who aren't offering us enough money, and now we have a day and a half to sort something out.

All this for a player who has said he wanted to leave while last season was still going on.

Maybe chuck in the fact that when we did offer him a contract it was allegedly 180 grand a week which I presume he will now want from Liverpool or Chelsea. Liverpool wont pay him that we may have priced him out of a move.

We are ****ing good at this

[Sir C]

Maybe chuck in the fact that when we did offer him a contract it was allegedly 180 grand a week which I presume he will now want from Liverpool or Chelsea. Liverpool wont pay him that we may have priced him out of a move.

We are ****ing good at this

This £180 grand is a figure plucked from someone's imagination. You have absolutely no idea if it is anywhere near true.

You have absolutely no idea what he will want from liverpool or Chelsea.

You have absolutely no idea what Liverpool would pay him.

You've just put a load of random imaginings together and used them as a stick with which to beat the club

Other than this, your argument is cogent, reasoned and entirely factual.

[Ash]

Maybe chuck in the fact that when we did offer him a contract it was allegedly 180 grand a week which I presume he will now want from Liverpool or Chelsea. Liverpool wont pay him that we may have priced him out of a move.

We are ****ing good at this

I read that he's just turned down £220k pw from Chelsea. To be fair to the boy, playing in that position is more important to him than the dosh.

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

Honestly, I do struggle to understand why he wanted to stay on. He must know there's no prospect of us winning the league in the immediate future and that he's just going to get more and more abuse. Why is he still there?

He stated quite clearly that he is not going to retire and that he will either be here or somewhere else managing a football team.


What we can be reasonably sure of
1) He is motivated to manage
2) He has no other interests
3) He has no one at home.
4) His new contract came with a pretty good raise
5) He easily won the battle of the restructure with Gazidis

What we can (possibly) infer
1) His reputation has taken a dent from his last contract renewal to now.
2) He had no other offers from anyone else.
3) He has free reign to do what he wants on the football field without interference

the above, if true, would make the decision quite easy tbh.

[SWv2]

None of this suggest mental illness to me

I'm just tired of the hyperbole and intemperate language. It feeds off itself. There are people on this board who have been calling aw a **** for 10 years - now they're becoming apoplectic.

Like Antifa, Trump and identity politics, we live at a time when it would do a great deal of good if everyone sat down and thought quietly for a moment about exactly why they are so outraged.

While you may be angry with these people I am not sure why you are being so feisty with other calm and deep thinkers.

Your stoic loyalty to Wenger has been noted and I respect you for that*.

*I don't

[Ash]

None of this suggest mental illness to me

I'm just tired of the hyperbole and intemperate language. It feeds off itself. There are people on this board who have been calling aw a **** for 10 years - now they're becoming apoplectic.

Like Antifa, Trump and identity politics, we live at a time when it would do a great deal of good if everyone sat down and thought quietly for a moment about exactly why they are so outraged.

That's fair enough, but it doesn't invalidate the critique, which just focuses on one player's contract situation, and there are many others. If a highly paid and powerful executive at any other company presided over such a scenario, he would surely recieve some flak.

I personally have no wish to get angry about football. It ain't worf it. Especially when there are more important things to worry about, like a new leak in the flat. I did get a little bit stressed watching the Liverpool match though, It wasn't pretty.

[Sir C]

That's fair enough, but it doesn't invalidate the critique, which just focuses on one player's contract situation, and there are many others. If a highly paid and powerful executive at any other company presided over such a scenario, he would surely recieve some flak.

I personally have no wish to get angry about football. It ain't worf it. Especially when there are more important things to worry about, like a new leak in the flat. I did get a little bit stressed watching the Liverpool match though, It wasn't pretty.

Criticism may well be merited, I agree. As I say, i object merely to the intermperate language and hysteria.