Time for some home truths

[Peter]

You?ll not be surprised that for me, the jury is still out over Berta, if indeed he?s responsible for shelling out such vast sums on midrange talent.
Where we?ve profited this season is from having decent depth on the bench; in previous years we?ve had to rely on a sprinkling of kids from the U21?s and being compromised over injuries.
On an individual level and with hindsight, it seems we spaffed large sums of money away on players whose value today is no where near the outlay but that?s probably something to do with market prices, clever agents and desperation on our part to get a deal over the line.

Of course the jury is still out. He's only had one window so far.

But the key for me isnt whether he is any good. It is whether he and Arteta are on the same page. That alignment is essential.

We don't need good players. We need the right players.

[7sisters]

Of course the jury is still out. He's only had one window so far.

But the key for me isnt whether he is any good. It is whether he and Arteta are on the same page. That alignment is essential.

We don't need good players. We need the right players.

It?s also about how he handles the players moving in the opposite direction. The club have been incredibly poor at managing the credit side of the balance sheet. I?m not expecting him to work miracles but it would be a bonus to receive some sort of return on players like Vieira, Jesus, Trossard, Kiwior etc, as opposed to some derisory, write off amount.

[Peter]

It?s also about how he handles the players moving in the opposite direction. The club have been incredibly poor at managing the credit side of the balance sheet. I?m not expecting him to work miracles but it would be a bonus to receive some sort of return on players like Vieira, Jesus, Trossard, Kiwior etc, as opposed to some derisory, write off amount.

Selling on is always going to be a problem for a club like us. If you sign players who are not good enough then you are paying them more than they are worth. And often wages that very few clubs are willing/able to match.

You end in a situation where the clubs that could afford them dont want them and the clubs that want them cant afford them. It is no surprise that some of our biggest sales were academy players (Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Nketiah) who were still on relatively low wages.

Funnily though, the status of champions can add value to your sales. So we will see. Jesus has to go, purely because of the wages. We cant have bit part player on 200 grand a week.

[7sisters]

Selling on is always going to be a problem for a club like us. If you sign players who are not good enough then you are paying them more than they are worth. And often wages that very few clubs are willing/able to match.

You end in a situation where the clubs that could afford them dont want them and the clubs that want them cant afford them. It is no surprise that some of our biggest sales were academy players (Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Nketiah) who were still on relatively low wages.

Funnily though, the status of champions can add value to your sales. So we will see. Jesus has to go, purely because of the wages. We cant have bit part player on 200 grand a week.

I suppose it?s always going to work against you when looking to buy. The likes of Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford, cherry picking players from mid table French sides for ?15m, suddenly being touted at ?50m when Arsenal start sniffing around.

[Rich]

Selling on is always going to be a problem for a club like us. If you sign players who are not good enough then you are paying them more than they are worth. And often wages that very few clubs are willing/able to match.

You end in a situation where the clubs that could afford them dont want them and the clubs that want them cant afford them. It is no surprise that some of our biggest sales were academy players (Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Nketiah) who were still on relatively low wages.

Funnily though, the status of champions can add value to your sales. So we will see. Jesus has to go, purely because of the wages. We cant have bit part player on 200 grand a week.

Martinelli, Trossard, Nwaneri, White & maybe Gyokeres to be sold. Mosquera may end up going if White's injury is long term.

Monga (seems this is done already)
ST - Alvarez (think we have a chance as Athletico really don't want to sell to Barca). If not then Kroupi from AFCB.

LW - Not really sure. A few options out there.

MF 8 - Bouaddi would be my choice but Tonali and Alex Scott both options too.

RB - Livramento I have on **reasonably** reliable authority is very advanced.

[Peter]

Martinelli, Trossard, Nwaneri, White & maybe Gyokeres to be sold. Mosquera may end up going if White's injury is long term.

Monga (seems this is done already)
ST - Alvarez (think we have a chance as Athletico really don't want to sell to Barca). If not then Kroupi from AFCB.

LW - Not really sure. A few options out there.

MF 8 - Bouaddi would be my choice but Tonali and Alex Scott both options too.

RB - Livramento I have on **reasonably** reliable authority is very advanced.

I've heard a few people touting the Livramento rumour. Mosquera isnt going anywhere. He's had a great first season.

We dont really know what will happen as we haven't seen too much of Berta yet. World Cup tends to make for a slightly awkward summer of transfers.

We'll see. I doubt we will spend too heavily as we spent an awful lot last season. But I guess we earned a fair bit as well.

[Rich]

I've heard a few people touting the Livramento rumour. Mosquera isnt going anywhere. He's had a great first season.

We dont really know what will happen as we haven't seen too much of Berta yet. World Cup tends to make for a slightly awkward summer of transfers.

We'll see. I doubt we will spend too heavily as we spent an awful lot last season. But I guess we earned a fair bit as well.

We will spend more than we did last summer. NET spend maybe not as we will definitely make some big sales too.

Mosquera will go if we get an offer of 50m or more and can't sell White. Can put a buyback clause in.

[redgunamo]

I've heard a few people touting the Livramento rumour. Mosquera isnt going anywhere. He's had a great first season.

We dont really know what will happen as we haven't seen too much of Berta yet. World Cup tends to make for a slightly awkward summer of transfers.

We'll see. I doubt we will spend too heavily as we spent an awful lot last season. But I guess we earned a fair bit as well.

No way we're selling any player after just one season, in any case.

[redgunamo]

It?s also about how he handles the players moving in the opposite direction. The club have been incredibly poor at managing the credit side of the balance sheet. I?m not expecting him to work miracles but it would be a bonus to receive some sort of return on players like Vieira, Jesus, Trossard, Kiwior etc, as opposed to some derisory, write off amount.

The old Net Spend MacGuffin.
Nobody cares about that. It's sunk costs, the money's gone.

We'll deal with it.

[redgunamo]

Selling on is always going to be a problem for a club like us. If you sign players who are not good enough then you are paying them more than they are worth. And often wages that very few clubs are willing/able to match.

You end in a situation where the clubs that could afford them dont want them and the clubs that want them cant afford them. It is no surprise that some of our biggest sales were academy players (Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Nketiah) who were still on relatively low wages.

Funnily though, the status of champions can add value to your sales. So we will see. Jesus has to go, purely because of the wages. We cant have bit part player on 200 grand a week.

That might work. The strong feeling here, somewhat surprisingly, is that Arteta must be something of a genius manager to have won the Premier League with our players, our squad and our football.

But then, the people saying that didn't actually watch us play very often