Gibbs, Jenkinson, Chamberlain & Wilshere

Ben Arfa is another middling performer who gets hyped because Newcastle only get covered when they have an exceptional performance. He is very inconsistent.

Chelsea would have gone for him to replace Malouda if they rated him. They don't! In fact most top clubs don't except for Arsene. And after buying Gervinho instead of Hazard and trying to replace RVP with Giroud. I don't trust Arsene's judgement or his scouts at the moment.

Jenius

I think you make very good points. Very solid on the whole what I read from you in general.

But I go back to my point, just because it's happened in the past couple of years doesn't mean it wont continue. I think for us to remain so "profitable" This has been somewhat necessary. You can never guarantee a Champions League or Premier League winners medal at the start of the season but what you can try to guarantee is the long-term security of the club. When we have an inflated squad and players on large amounts of money who don't deserve it perhaps rather than risk financial trouble we're playing the safer game. If nothing changes in the next few years and we continue to sell our big names after re-negotiations of certain contracts and sponsorships I will be worried. Until then I remain hopeful

*will.

If nothing changes in the next few years and we continue to sell our big names after re-negotiations of certain contracts and sponsorships I will be worried.
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There is NOTHING that is going to change the dynamics.

Look Arsene Wenger was wrong. Completely wrong.

The market is as bad it gets. We are in recession and Europe is is in recession. Do you see transfer prices collapsing or football clubs going out of business? So how do you burst a bubble when there is no bubble? Football is a marketing vehicle and not a profit making industry. Thats where a lot of American billionaires have been badly advised and been sold a lie. You have to know what you are getting into and its obvious that Kroenke doesn't. The whole FFP mantra is nonsense that just doesn't apply to Chelseas or Man Citys. Those are the teams that create wage price inflation. It will hurt Arsenal more than any club.

Things are going to improve in the market in a few years which will put us even more behind the 8 ball. If we cannot even afford to pay market wages to our developing players, let alone new stars, today, how are you going to do it when the market is growing again with higher marketing revenue and so greater wages? Don't say Gazidis is going to turn into a marketing genius because Man Utd are getting the deals now and all Gazdis can do is make cold calls to Megafon. Whats more I doubt we will have any CL revenue by then. I don't see this team qualifying for the CL without Theo AND another top striker. Pod has brought his Bayern form with him and that was expected as he has reputation of bottling it in higher profile situations. Giroud is just as bad as Chamakh. Chamakh was at least very impressive when Nasri and Cesc were feeding him.

The only way Gazidis can be proved right is if the Euro collapses. But at that point Arsenal will go out of business very quickly as no mug will be willing to pay the highest season ticket prices for mid-table football.

One of my darker moments. Even Giroud is coming round!

But lets face it how close were we to the abyss till this summer? Even most of the people who had put complete faith in Wenger wanted him out. I hope Ozil is the move that starts the thinking I was referring to above. There was no bubble and the market is still growing exponentially. To the point that even Gazidis has joined the Glactico club.

I will forgive you because you are right 99% of the time hence the Jenius99

I've just had a look back through loads of old posts and realised how fickle I have been at times, maybe less so these days but when I first signed up my opinions were back and forward like a soddin see-saw.

Just because they have changed their strategy now doesn't mean either of us were wrong reading the mess at board level at the time. Lets face it the whole situation rested on Walcott. That blokes intransigence broke the camels back.

Theo could have got fed up and walked to Man City or Chelsea. We came that close to losing a £25m asset over £20k a week. Somewhere along the line Gazids/Wenger/Kroenke relented and finally put an end to the wage structure. Obviously Wenger's own reluctance to sign a new contract put a shot across Kroenke's bow. And low and behold we have now broken the garbage wage structure and transfer record.

Let the flood gates open. If it hadn't happened this summer Wenger's position would have been untenable. Maybe we can even follow it up with a trophy. I think the board/Wenger are probably astounded at the positive reaction from the press and fans and commercial revenue. Maybe they should have done it when Kroenke took over instead of selling RVP and Cesc.

Pretty spot on there to be honest, can you imagine if we'd let Walcott go after what he ended up providing for us last season? I believe Theodore leaving came close to happening too. One cannot always be completely right about everything when predicting the future

It would have been rather pathetic had we decided we'd rather take a transfer fee (one that would not have been anywhere near his real value as his contract was not too long from expiring) Fortunately Wenger realised how important he was going to be for us following Van Persie's departure and the backlash that would have ensued had we let him leave so soon after losing VP.

He was then and remains, one of our best and most valuable assets. Sheer pace can be enough to score goals against some of the best teams (when he produces a good performance) which is why many remain frightened of him and sit back and pack the defence.

Talk of us going after Suarez in January. What a team we would have, I have taken a very pro-stance to him joining since the rumours started this summer, Wenger would get the best out of him.

A trophy is certainly a possibility, I think we'll have a better idea of whether we are capable after we have played another 7 or so league games and faced Dortmund & Napoli in the Champions League. If we are still standing strong then, the defence hasn't collapsed and we are not hit with our usual chronic level of injuries then anything could happen this season.

Something inside me making me think it will be between Chelsea & Arsenal for the top two places this season whilst Manchester fight for the other two CL Qualification spots. If we sign Suarez in January we will definitely be challenging.

I don't think Wenger is overly surprised with the positive reaction. He knows how many of the fans feel and addresses (or at least attempts to) concerns when he has the chance. But because he's done a lot of talking and not enough spending for quite a few years now people get fed up and stop taking him seriously. It is also a case of the classic mantras of "Everyone wants what they can't have." & "You only know what you've got once it's gone." Even extremely negative fans who have been depressed for years and unable to cope flipped very quickly to elation. In recent years, in all honesty we have all been desperate for some success or a big transfer to make us buzz, even just some positive news for a change!

I do still think we are very sensible in our long-term strategical financial planning, although I think we would all admit that it can get frustrating when you want immediate success. We have steered our ship slowly & safely through this long transition and now it's time to fire the guns.