Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed yesterday in an interview with the clubs official website Arsenal.com, he will not be heavily investing in the transfer market during the summer, saying:
“I will keep faith [with them] because we have worked hard for what we have now.”
“We have money because we made money and we made money because we made the right decisions. I believe a football team is not about buying and selling. It is about building, patience, working together and going through a growing process. Also it is enjoyable now to see the team coming slowly up and see how well they can do.”
So, with little investment in the squad, which by the way, with the likes of Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and co coming back is not a bad thing, it was only yesterday where i used the Alex Song case as an example, about belief in our players, and they will come good, it leaves us a goalkeeper short, with Jens Lehmann’s contract being up, and him expected to return to Germany.
Many people have turned their noses up at the thought of Vito Mannone being our number three keeper, something in my opinion is crazy, what more does the guy have to do to get a chance in the team, he has been a regular for the Reserves this season, and towards the end of last, making exceptional saves, time and again and not against mickey mouse players/teams either, it was only our last Reserve match, he made several top class stops from Leroy Lita, an England Under 21 international, Jimmy Kebe former Lens striker, and a last minute penalty save from Ireland international Shane Long to get Arsenal the point.
Wenger also believes in young Mannone, speaking to Arsenal.com, when asked in January what would happen if Jens left during that window, he confirmed Vito would be the third choice, and that he was very impressed with his progress, Reserve coach Neil Banfield echoed his statement, and shortly after Arsenal offered the £350,000 signing a brand new 4 year contract, which he signed, further showing, he will be in Wenger future plans.
So what do you think? should Vito be given the chance was the number three keeper, after all, how many games does the number 3 actually get? or should we sign another stopper?
Article By – J.Sanderson
Fran Merida is the most overrated Arsenal youngster since… well, let’s just say he’s in the same league as Jeremie Aliadiere in this regard.
The guy WILL NOT make it at Arsenal.
As for Vela? Looks talented in Spain, but inconsistent. Unlikely to have much of an impact next year
Arsene’s already in the process of throwing away yet another season due to his arrogant, self-important attitude in the transfer market.
Next season will be no different – he’s put his own objectives above the best interests of the club. He works his magic in his own way, but his flaws are getting the better of him, and of the team.
I agree. How do you think he compares ability wise to Fabianski?
He is a little quicker of his line than Fabianski, his kicking is not as good, but as a shot stopper he is first class.
hood points there mate, i famously said, Fran Merida would not make it, here, and people laughed it, off.
He has alot of very good talented, but there is such a high volume as well as standard of central midfielders already at the club.
That said, it’s good to hear your views on Mannone – though I struggle to believe he’s even quicker off his line than Fabianski, who seems to come out so fast it looks like he’s being stung with a cattle-prod!
gr8 post jamie, i think Vito should be promoted to no.3 gk its good to see a player we bought when he was 17 which is very young for a goalkeeper to come through to the first team, isit me or does it seem lyk hes been around for ages lol!, didnt Buffon once say he had the potential to become italys no.1 one day?.
I saw him at Burnely – very crap
Burnley? in which competition, and when?
I think your getting him confused with Szczesny.
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
who?
He did go on loan to Burnley but only played once I think and had a bit of a horror show from what I recall reading somewhere. But you can’t judge a player especially a goal keeper on one performance alone. They tend to take years to develop.
Reason why Merida isnt getting a run in the team is just that…he hasnt got the chance…i very strongly believe he is top quality and i mean very top quality i watched the U20 tonurment and i tell you this boy and vela are going to play for arsenal reasons being they can operate on all flanks and upfront as the 2nd striker omly that vela can play further up the field. Vela’s qualities are he has an EYE for a good pass and a great left foot shot on him like RVP…you are still going to eat your words u guys who have written vela off……………..i believe in all our youngsters and again am behind wenger if he didnt take that buying option…we have very many good players at the club
He went on loan to BARNSLEY, the side that beat Chelsea, and Liverpool, not Burnley mate.
and yeah, he was really poor there, was thrown in at the deep end, and struggled. but since then he was worked on so many aspects of his game.
Cor blimey Jimbo – your one of those ‘glass half empty’ people aren’t you? ;-)
man, the earlier cretin cursing wenger needs to go support a different team, im all for constructive criticism but ur talking utter garbage, go grow a brain, & then support west ham or sumthin, as far as brains go u’ll fit right in
Isn’t one of the principle advantages to NOT entering the transfer market that we are creating a particular culture within the club into which boys are trained from a young age. Thus, when the going gets tough over a long gruelling campaign in 2011-12 and legs and minds are tired they have the instincts in place to carry them through?
Second reason being that it builds comaraderie and cohesiveness over the years. Admittedly, players might not like each other or want to fight for each other, but it’s more likely that the majority will develop an us versus them mentality, and bond in other ways, that means their commitment to the club and to each other will be stronger than that of players on other teams who float in and out of clubs strictly to earn a living?
Moreover, a good youth system based on some of the best young players in the world means coaches can see who is developing into arsenal material on and off the pitch, and let go those who don’t make it. And do so cheaply. Whereas expensive transfers like that of Reyes actually complicate matters and aren’t resolved cheaply.
Finally, how often did Winterburn, Dixon, Bould/Keown, Adams and Seaman go on cruise control because they knew each other so well, thus saving energy for big matches over the course of a season? When all four seamlessly put their hands in the air for offside didn’t it influence linemen? Didn’t their familiarity with one another give them a psychological advantage over strike partnerships that didn’t know each other so well?
Wenger is blending the best of English football and Arsenal football with the best teenage talent out there, to come to fruition in several years time without jeopardizing the financial future of the club to do so. And bringing in 27-year old foreign talent is no gaurantee of success on the same fronts that we are currently fighting for trophies.
Hey guys, Wenger also believes in trading players to make profit. He would not stop buying young talents. Those who can’t make it eventually at Arsenal would be sold off later at a handsome profit. Nothing wrong with that, as far as I see it.
The other benefit for Arsenal is that young talents all over would not be hesitating to sign on if Wenger comes calling cos of his records in showcasing talents. They knew they can always make it to another big team once they’ve developed themselves at Arsenal.
So why are we moaning? If Wenger couldn’t find a young talent to fill in the roles he wanted, he would have look for a seasoned pro. Examples were all around for those who wants to see…. Viera, Petit, Wiltord, Gilberto, Lehmann, Hleb, Reyes, Henry….etc
this is a tricky one he seems like he could be good but i see wenger buying a new keeper anyway but merida has the talent just needs games at a higher level
yeah guys lay off Arsene..he has balanced this clubs books, played a good technical game that has attracted top stars to the club and he has stayed in the top four without necessarily sending the club in the red zone of debt
In wenger i trust a million times
I cant believe there are people complaining about Wenger “throwing” away the season. Last time I checked we were stick top.
I have seen Vela play on several occasions this season and have thought he looks very good and will be a good player for us next season. I am not saying he will play all the time but I think he will be used like Walcott has been used this season. As someone else stated Merida just needs game (something he isnt getting at Sociedad) so perhaps he will go out on loan next season again.
Anyone know when Pedro will eligible to play for us?
How ungrateful can some people be? How can you say Wenger is doing the wrong thing when we are in the last 8 of CL and on the top of the League? Sure, we might be even better if we had bought Torres or Tevez but you can’t have everything. Maybe Wenger was trying to buy Torres but didn’t make it, we never know. He almost got Robinho. And we never know how good Torres would have been with us. Maybe Wenger just thought he didn’t fit in our play. I doubt it but I trust Wenger very well for it.
And how can somebody doubt about Vela? I guess some people are building too much hype around him but anybody can see what a great player he is. Merida might not make it but Vela is awesome.
I have to say that I am very excited for Mannone, Fabianski and Schezny. I have not seen much of any of them but they all look like great prospects. I find it very unlikely that Mannone will play anything next season though. Almunia will play in the league and CL while Fabianski will play in the cups. This is a hard time for him, should he go on loan or should he stay in the reserve with limited opportunities in the first team?
1. Arsene should have bought in the window.
2. RVP cannot be counted on to last a season anymore.
3. being top now and in final 8 means nothing if we end up potless.
That said we have made very good progress, but diaby and eboue on the wings is the kind of tight fisted wenger way that really pees me off.
anyhow lets see what happens come may.
The facts speak for themselves, as the time we’ve spent without a trophy gets ever longer.
Yes, Arsene’s balanced the books, yes Arsene’s signed some talented youngsters, but the fact is, he’s not won anything for two seasons, and looks intent on choking yet again this season and throwing away a significant advantage at the top of the league, because he’s yet again made the same mistake of leaving the squad too thin.
It’s not the first time he’s done it, and it continues to cost us points and trophies, as Arsene puts his own personal ambitions above those gove the club. Arsene will deserves more criticism than praise if we finish this season empty handed. Right now, the glass (that is, the trophy cabinet) isn’t even half full.
Or, to put it another way, I’d happily swap all the pretty football in the world, and all our bollocks about not ‘overpaying’ for players if it meant we actually won a trophy at some point.
jimbo your talking as if the season over.Yes he should of bought a winger that was and still is a must but were on top of the league and in the last 8 so for a so called young team we aint doing bad.plus we have’t played pretty football for a long time but were still top
Wenger gambled. Massively. By keeping his hands in his pockets in both transfer windows, he essentially affirmed that he would either win his way, or not at all.
If Wenger wins something this year, he deserves a huge amount of praise. But if he wins nothing, he deserves a massive, massive amount of criticism.
I firmly believe that if Arsene had spent just half of the transfer budget available to him, and signed a few more players, then we would, without doubt, have won at least one major trophy over the last couple of seasons.
Who knows, perhaps even the Champions League.
It’s all very well laughing at Manchester Utd for spending such a huge amount of money on the likes of Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and Tevez. But these guys have just won the league, and are seriously making efforts to strengthen their squad. This is where Ferguson trumps Wenger every single time – Fergie is NEVER happy with what he has, always puts pressure on his players, and is always desperate to improve. Arsene, whenever he even sniffs success, just sits on his laurels, and does nothing. There’s a reason we’ve never won back to back titles, and it’s because success makes Arsene complacent.
And he’s also become complacent with the lack of any pressure put on him by the board to actually win anything. We may all moan about Mourinho, but he’s right. If ANY other manager at a top club had such a barren spell as Wenger’s brought on us, he’d be under massive pressure by now.
Am I suggesting we sack Arsene? Of course not. But how long does he get before we turn round and realise that, no matter how well we play on occasion, no matter how little money he spends, he has to actually win trophies to be doing the job he’s paid to do? Is another season winning nothing good enough? How about next year, if Arsene yet again completely screws up the transfer window? Will another barren season be ok? How many more years of winning nothing should Arsene be allowed? I’m getting tired of seeing the same old obvious mistakes.
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Jimbo, go support Chelski, they do exactly what you want.
Mark my word! Vela will be as least as good as Reyes minus the drama. Having watched him extensively in La Liga he is better than Walcott at this point. Extremely skillful, he has pace, a good shot, confidence in taking on markers and makes good choices against top competition. Barring injury and subject to some acclimatization to the EPL he will become a regular starter by the end of next season.
Nuff Said!
Congratulation! both of your blog, and this post are high ranked in
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jimbo.. are you forgetting who made arsenal into such a formidable team in the first place? chelsea and man u have been spending big and couldn’t make it to the final of the champion’s league, like wenger did. at least two of the top four won’t win a thing this season anyway
Don’t be such a simpleton Wengerball.
You don’t just ‘switch’ clubs because you’re not happy with the way the club you support is being run.
Vela will only be a regular starter next season if Wenger fluffs yet another transfer window (and let’s face it, who’d bet against that happening?).
Talented, no doubt, but ready to start every week for Arsenal? Give him another 3 seasons, just like Walcott should have been given.
vela a talent but yeah i agree dont see vela making a big impact i do think and wenger will buy at least 2 players but i noticed with fergie he knows the best the talents are young.nani anderson ronaldo fergie did buy them at 18 19
You given up already Jimbo? I thought we had 10 games left.
Given up?
Who said I’d given up?
We’d be 10 points clear by now if Wenger was sensible enough to use the transfer window effectively.
If we win it all, it will be a massive achievement by Wenger. But if we lose, he’s got a hell of a lot to answer for.
He may talk as if he thinks he’s being cautious, but the reality is he’s gambling with the club. It looks very possible that, yet again, it’s all going to blow up in his face, and his ridiculous transfer policy will yet again leave us empty handed.
If we lose Wenger does have a lot to answer for:
– 3 league titles
– 4 FA cups
– A champions league final
Yes I can officially confirm that these never would have happened were it not for Wenger. Perhaps we need Jimbo to manage, as he knows so much?
Living in the past eh?
you sound like a scouser to me…
Surely a manager’s current performance is measured more by where he’s going, than where he’s been?
jimbo where did man u just won the league?
if you coplain bout our lack of giving money to over rathed players go supports chelsea or manu
What on earth are you talking about?
Can you even read what I’ve written?
As I said, Wenger’s gambled, massively, because he’s put his personal principles ahead of the interests of the club. He didn’t need to, and if he hadn’t, we’d be well clear by now.
For me, Jimbo’s got a point, but let’s be honest, Wenger built the mountain his way, if he wants to scale a new peak his way, then that’s his choice too. I’m afraid he’s done it all ‘his way.’ From the almost unknown in this country Eduardo, who was doing great until he was crocked, to the similarly unknown Sgana, who’s looks like a prem league lifer, he’s done v. well in the transfer market.
Bringing in big name players can do more than improve the team today, it can cap the growth of players tomorrow, I think if he were to change his policy and bring in top name stars, you’d see a lot of disgruntled players leaving the club. And BTW, RVP will play full seasons yet, he’s only young. The one I’m worried about is Rosicky, who’s class but niggly-injury prone. You want warriors out wide who play whenever asked. Remember Bryan robson and his broken shoulder? Linekar and his broken wrist?
You see though, it’s not as if there’s some kind of dichotomy between doing things Wenger’s way, and doing things chelsea’s way.
There is a big, wide-open middle ground, that leaves plenty of room to develop young talent, but ensure that we have a strong, deep squad as well. Personally, I feel that over the last few seasons, Wenger’s put his own interests in developing his young, undeniably talented players above the overall goal of putting a competitive, winning team on the field at all times.
the thing with transfers how many players aged 22-26 are out there that you can buy for say under 25mill because i only think of quaresma,diego,and van der vart that you can really buy
thats true about chelsea but some of the players have flooped or not finding as easy as they thought like malouda,shev,and pizarro
Jimbo you are as fucking stupid as your name sounds.
You assume if Arsenal dont win something this year it’s because WEnger didnt buy anyone in january. How do you know Wenger didnt try and couldnt find the right player at the right price? How do you know if he had brought somoene in that that player would settled in immediately and made a crucial impact?
The idea that Wenger should receive a ‘massive, massive’ of criticism if Arsenal dont win a trophy is ridiculous. With fans like you who needs enemies! Jesus, the world must seem like an incredibly bleak place to someone like you.
You’re telling me, that with a transfer budget that must have approached £40mm, Wenger couldn’t find anyone in the whole footballing world that would have done a better job on the left wing than Abou Diaby’s done all season? And you’re calling me stupid?
Just open your eyes and look at our squad – we’ve been paper thin for months, and finally the cracks seem to be showing as we throw away points game after game. Yes, it’s obvious that the squad’s too thin. And how could Wenger have fixed that? By doing a job in the transfer market. He’s left us too thin season after season after season, and he doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes. Even our invincibles season was done with an incredibly thin squad – we were just far luckier with injuries.
sudaniGunne – good to hear your views echo mine – why oh why to our so called fans come on to this blog and slag off our team and manager – like they are so good at football management they sit in warm cosy offices doing their 9-5 jobs and feel they know everything – since arsene took over, and for a team that was really stuck in the mud, so much has changed….. we play FOOTBALL, sign exciting players who very often are ‘nothing’ but turn out to be gems, never finished outside the top four, yet still is not enough…
YES I would love for us to win many trophies each season, but i truely dont want us to be taken over by someone, spend millions upon millions, and then who at any time could sell his shares and leave us in the poo – Leeds ring any bells!!
Yes i get sad when we lose, yes i get frustrated sometimes – but i truely believe in our clubs ethics, and our boss – he sees football, and believes in Eboue, Merida, Mannone, Fabianski, Vela, Theo, Song and many others…… And that for me is good enough
Get off his back – Support our club and unless you have the qualities of our boss and scouts – Piss off and support a team who might really be interested in your views….
Three point tomorrow please boys – and then a win at the Russian camp, a draw at Old Trafford and who knows, the fickle fans may again believe
What a load of nonsense – ‘you can’t criticise, because you couldn’t do a better job’. My arse. Believe it or not, there are 20 managers in the football league, and every single one of them could do a better job than you or I, or every single one of us who reads this blog. Does that mean that every single one of them is beyond criticism?
Wenger does a lot right. Nobody’s contesting that, and if you’d read what I’d ACTUALLY written, it would have been pretty clear that I wasn’t either. What I AM criticising, is a specific aspect of his management, that seems to be playing a major role in preventing us from winning any trophies. And trophies, at the end of the day, are what matters.
Compare even Chelsea to the Herb Chapman years at Arsenal. Some of the similarities are striking, and yet do we remember how Arsenal bribed themselves into the league, how we effectively outspent everyone else and bought ourselves trophies? No, we remember it as a golden era for our club.
Trophies count, and in time, everything else will be forgotten, top four finishes, near misses in the Carling Cup and Champions League qualification. All of this will mean nothing. Trophies count. Arsene is the reason we’re competing now. He’s also the reason we’ve not won any for the last few seasons.
Besides, if I were manager of Arsenal, I WOULD have spent £15m on a winger last summer, and re-enforced the squad.
I’d probably have fucked a lot of other things up, but in that aspect at least, I reckong I WOULD have done a better job.
I too wish we had a Torres on the team, wish Wenger would splash the cash a little BUT…what he has done this season is remarkable. Most pundits (and probably most posters on this site) had the Gunners struggling this season! Lucky to make Europe next. Wenger has kept the faith and while Chelsea have been crying over injuries, Arsene has done a brilliant job dealing with the injuries suffered by the Gunners. If I had of told you that RVP would be out most of the season, Eduardo would be lost with a broken leg, Rosicky out for a long time and Lehmann not capable of whining his way into the first team most of you would have written off the season. Who would have ‘thunk’ that Flam and Cesc would be the best midfield tandem, that Clichy (despite recent blunders) and Sagny would be arguably the best full back tandem in the league????
Hats of to Wenger!!! If we are going to buy in the offseason then let’s break the bank for some English talent – forget the Beckham wannabe at Blackburn, I would go after Milner to give us some toughness and crossing ability on the right hand side. Oh yes…and hopefully it is goodbye Eboue and au revoir Gilberto
A message from a brit in Canuckville
if almunia can make it theres hope for many keepers!
And Clive, what does it all count for, if we come away yet again with nothing?
Wenger’s gambles are showing him to tread a fine line between foolishness and brilliance. And how do you tell which is which? By looking at the end result. Wenger’s got each of the last 2 summers before that of 2007 horribly wrong, and the team has suffered as a result. Arsenal never needed to sink as low as they did, but Wenger forced us down there through his arrogant attitude in the market.
This year, no doubt, things have improved. But have they improved enough to make up for the gambles he made again last summer? We won’t know that until the end of the season. And, if he’s got it wrong, then what? Do we let him throw away season after season so that he can pursue his own personal ambitions?
Wenger needs to buy in the summer, and if he doesn’t, and fails yet again in 08/09, he should be thanked and politely asked to leave. Arsenal are bigger than any one man, and that includes the manager, and if Arsene’s strategy fails to deliver real success, the fact is we should get rid of him, no matter what he’s done in the past.
Jimbo, you are saying that trophies are what matters. True.
However, wenger has created in not spending big the last years, building the emirates stadium and investing in youth created a platform, financially and fotball-wise which Arsenal can win trophies from in years to come. With the money chelsea, liverpool, man U are sitting on, this transition period is vital for Arsenal as a club for the future.
So think a little bit longer than just what happens this or last year. Wenger has created a spectacular scene and the show is just starting.
Sorry about the obvoius errors in my post..