*thumbs up*
Luis Suarez pwned by the Lizards and is Staying, and has said sorry to BR and teammates
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*thumbs up*
Am I allowed Salisbury?
I wonder if Wenger's heart isn't really in any of these big money deals but he's going through the motions to appease the fans.
Selling to them would be mental. They are the only team in the top 4 who we can genuinely catch.
We'd better have someone lined up who will be the next £20 million up and coming star like Torres or Suarez in place when he goes or we're in serious shit.
The idea that if Sturridge is injured we're relying on Borini fills me with horror.
We'd better have someone lined up who will be the next £20 million up and coming star like Torres or Suarez in place when he goes or we're in serious shit.
The idea that if Sturridge is injured we're relying on Borini fills me with horror.
He's good and he's going to get even better, but he's not Gerrard standard.
Do Arsenal even see us as competitors? Not directly I'd say. 18 and 12 points off them the last two seasons.
I know that but its a Gooners observation.
If Suarez made the difference between them coming 4th ahead of us, it would cost us 30m.
Frankly, we should not sell to anyone in England.
Frankly, we should not sell to anyone in England.
Or Ivan Gazidis. Pressure is on him after all those talk of "£70m of additional, high-margin revenue" and "escalation in our financial firepower".
Probably not directly but of the clubs capable of breaking into the top 4 at their expense, its probably us and Tottenham. Can't see Daniel Levy/Tottenham entertaining any bids from Arsenal too. Bayern's policy wasn't restricted to direct rivals too. M'gladbach (Dante), Schalke (Neuer), Hoffenheim (Gustavo), Werder Bremen (Peterson, Pizzaro) etc.
Well that's the real point isn't it. I think that Arsenal and Wenger believe that we have a real chance of beating Arsenal to a fourth place spot this year based on our performance in the latter half of last season, plus the acquisitions we have recently made.
I think that for Arsenal this is a strategy more about weakening one of two only real rivals for fourth, and simultaneously boosting their strike force. Also, they are straight out saying, "Hey we're bigger than Liverpool." This bid is a statement because I think that to be honest without a big signing Arsenal will slip into 5th or sixth spots this season. They too are keenly aware that they cannot compete with City, United and Chelsea - so it's only one realistic spot to play for.
Perhaps the obvious solution to this is to a deal for £45m or so with £10m more dependent on them qualifying for the CL. Would seem reasonable. £10m is 1/3 of the CL revenue, and the chances of us missing out due to Suarez are surely more remote than that, so it seems like a good deal for us.
Or is that too logical to actually happen?
I know I'm repeating myself but I'm not happy with this at all, It's not because he want's to leave it's the fact it could be to a PL rival! This guy is one of the very few players we have that people FEAR and no not because he will bite them, but in terms of ability teams are scared to death of him! That's my theory on why Evra and Fergie got him banned! and we're ok with selling him fuck that and fuck Arsenal!
James Lawton's comment in today's Independent
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11096/8839673/suarez-solution
The news that Gonzalo Higuain has completed his move to Napoli might have come as a disappointment to some Arsenal supporters, but Olivier Giroud is likely to see things differently. The France international striker would have been the big loser if a deal for the 6ft tall Argentine forward had been completed - and that would have been a pity given his impressive pre-season.
There have been promising signs for Giroud on Arsenal's tour of Asia with the former Montpellier man netting six goals in just three games. The form of the under-pressure striker has not gone unnoticed by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. "I like Olivier very much," said Wenger. "He needed to adapt and I'm sure he will respond."
Perhaps it is Wenger who has responded. While Higuain would have surely taken up a centre-forward role at the Emirates Stadium, the decision to bid for Liverpool's wantaway hero Luis Suarez could be interpreted as a desire to fill a slightly different role in the team. In short, the arrival of Suarez need not mean the end for Giroud.
Encouragingly, that is how the man himself appears to see things. "Luis is someone with whom I could form a good understanding on the pitch," said Giroud. "So I am in favour of him coming to Arsenal and I am not afraid of the competition for places his arrival would bring about."
There is good reason to take that view. The 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in January - in which both men scored - highlights the differing roles the two forwards are capable of playing. While Giroud operates as a point of reference for his side, Suarez is the opposite - an elusive figure prepared to go searching for the ball.
Luis Suarez (left) and Olivier Giroud (right) - touches of the ball, Arsenal 2 Liverpool 2, January 2013
Suarez showed enough in his interaction with Daniel Sturridge, who arrived at Anfield in January, to suggest he is able to form a promising partnership with a more advanced forward. As such, it is easy to imagine the Uruguayan turning provider for Giroud. But importantly for Wenger, it is also clear that Suarez is equally capable of thriving as the lone frontman too.
Despite Giroud being a qualified success at Arsenal, there remains the nagging suspicion that the Gunners require a real goalscorer - the 20+ man who can truly replace Robin van Persie. There were plenty who weighed in during the 2012/13 campaign - Theo Walcott netting 14 Premier League goals, while Santi Cazorla scored 12 and both Lukas Podolski and Giroud reached double figures. And yet, too many chances were spurned.
When it comes to the big ones, Giroud was a disappointment. Only Van Persie was presented with more clear opportunities to score than the Frenchman last season. The difference is that the Manchester United striker also netted 17 of his clear-cut openings. Giroud successfully converted just four.
Indeed, of those players who enjoyed the most big chances to score in the Premier League last term, Giroud had by the far worst conversion rate - finishing just 17 per cent of those opportunities. The identity of the man who was the most reliable at converting from those situations is intriguing - it was that man Suarez.
This contrast is significant. Effectively, Arsenal have the potential to swap the most wasteful of forwards for the man who is most lethal. And given the service available from Wenger's team, it is tempting to conclude Suarez would thrive. The Liverpool striker has become renowned for his ability to create things for himself, but at Arsenal there would be more support.
Podolski, Cazorla and Walcott all offer creativity in their own way. In fact, the three men created 10+ big chances for team-mates in 2012/13 - with Arsenal being the only team in the Premier League to have three players achieve that feat. Suarez could allow others to go foraging while he focussed on matters inside the area.
He has the credentials in that regard. Despite his roaming role - or perhaps because of that energy - Suarez touched the ball 363 times in the opposition penalty box last season. That's 140 times more than the next man, Van Persie. A dozen years on from the ill-fated purchase of Francis Jeffers, dare we utter the words fox-in-the-box?
What's apparent is that although Luis Suarez is not the out-and-out striker Arsenal supporters might have envisaged as the means by which to improve their attacking options, he could be the answer nonetheless. The fact that this particular solution can come with or without current first-choice frontman Olivier Giroud is key - Arsene Wenger would be getting two players rolled into one... Well worth chucking in an extra pound or two.
John Aldridge on Luis Suarez (BBC Radio 5 live)
They could well be trying to weaken two sides. Had Real been able to get Suarez, Bale would likely have been a target for the following season. Now that Arsenal have made Suarez's price clear to the world, Real are likely out of the picture, and that gives them the incentive to splash their cash on Bale.
So the two top four contenders could both lose their best players, their highest goal scorers, the players that scare the shit out of oppositions, in one summer, all the while Arsenal get one of those two and get into the CL and make their 30m from it.
It's not as logical as you put it if you consider the knock on effect of being in or out of the champions league, both in player recruitment and worldwide marketing. There's way more worth than 30m in getting back into CL for us. And a 10m compensation is complete shite.
This is the player the ITK'ers say cost us 150m in sponsorship and a new stadium
Quotes and source please Hansern.
Chances are though that Suarez going to Arsenal won't make any difference to us getting in the top 4. We've got 12 points to make up on them, so even with the current state of play it's pretty unlikely we'll finish above them (and Spurs, remember, cos we have to leapfrog both). Then factor in that their budget is probably £50m (maybe more) larger than ours, and that even if they don't spend that money on Suarez, they'll spend it elsewhere. Then factor in that the player(s) they might otherwise spend it on could be even more effective than Suarez (6 more games, for a start) and that we might also be able to improve if we had the money from the Suarez deal.
It's actually pretty unlikely that Suarez will make the difference.
I'd imagine Suarez is more likely to be successful than whoever else they could spend money on. And we would also have to be sure that the 50m we spend would at least give us as many points as Suarez gained us, which is also an unknown. We won't really know if it's a good idea until after this season. It's a smaller risk for Arsenal at this stage, but the more we can squeeze out of them the better, obviously.
I'm all for selling him to Arsenal if we do get the 50m, as long as we get it very soon. The longer this drags on, the more money I'd want for him.
Wow - I guess 9000 shots per game and 50,000 touches don't look that bad:
It depends on something none of us can predict - how his style will interfere or work with their tiki-taka style.
Hard to really know, but I imagine he could be worth an extra 10-12, he's the kind of player they've needed for a while. Is the 10-12 worth 50m? All depends on how the other teams get on I suppose.
As long as the transfer fee is £40m+ and we're allowed to spend all of it on our squad, then i'm ok with him going to a PL club. £40m+ should allow us the chance to improve our team, whilst we'll also be getting rid of a player who is one fuck up away from yet another huge ban.
It'll be nice not to have to worry about when he's going to flip again tbh.
It'll be nice not to have to worry about when he's going to flip again tbh.
