And I'm sure there's many others. The list of players Arsenal (or Wenger) came very close to signing but weren't willing or didn't have the balls to pay the extra few million, which are now worth twice as much and putting in world class performances for their team:
Hazard
Draxler
Suarez (bar tonight's game)
Then there's:
Lukaku
Higuan
Mata
Not only have all of those player's value risen significantly and therefore put the club in positive equity, but they would all walk into our current team. Instead we seem to buy cheaper alternatives who not only perform to a much lower standard but also offer less from an investment perspective.
All with the adage "we only buy quality when it's available".
Hindsight is great, but learning from previous f*ck ups is much better in my book.
Cheers.
Just off the top of my head...
posted on 14/2/17
Yeah Bale's transformation was unforseen. And like I saod, he's have been like Gibbs anyway had he gone to Arsenal, an injury prone, average left back.
posted on 14/2/17
Ibra is on the list
posted on 15/2/17
If we signed Hazard or Draxler then we wouldn't have got Sanchez... every club misses out on players it's hard to always predict how players will develop and how much potential they have. Wenger should stop going on about all the players we missed out on though
posted on 15/2/17
Ronaldo (came to London 3 times to discuss the deal with Arsenal), Drogba (was offered to Arsenal for £100,000 by Le Mans but Wenger rejected him), Cech (when he first came to England), and Yaya.
posted on 15/2/17
Why is everyone making such a big deal about this. Anytime he says we tried to sign someone, you all make some big fuss as though Arsene Wenger was the only manager who failed to sign them. The list of players (Barr Lukaku) is a list of players whom were all widely sought after. Every top club was after them.
What's also very interesting and highly selective on the parts of fans moaning is that almost all the clubs those players went to. Also have a decent list of high price flops in that same ten year span. Closest we have to that is Ozil.
So 1 in ten years and even he managed to set a league record. It would make more sense to be moaning about the talent we let leave the club. Complaing he failed to sign someone at least 10 others also failed to sign is kinda ridiculous. Now you people are just looking too hard for reasons to criticize the man. Jeez just stick to the valid critique, not like there isn't plenty of it to go around.
posted on 15/2/17
**some might class Reyes as high price flop thinking about it. He was 25 mil which was steep at the time.
posted on 15/2/17
comment by Pep The Final Straw!! (Formerly WB2) (U8276)
posted 45 minutes ago
**some might class Reyes as high price flop thinking about it. He was 25 mil which was steep at the time.
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17.5m wasn't it? Was great for a season but wimped out after that.
posted on 15/2/17
Yea Reyes was not £25m.
Think the attention Gary Neville gave him one afternoon caused him to want to go back home.
posted on 15/2/17
Pep, what do you mean "bar Lukaku"? Lukaku had turned heads all across Europe after becoming top scorer in the Belgian league at just 16 years old.
posted on 15/2/17
Cech and Yaya Toure we agreed to sign but got rejected for a work permit. Same as Ronaldinho, Di Maria and probably some others. But we got a special talent visa for the likes of Wellington Silva and Denilson