we should cut their legs off if they want to leave

I think it shows that our players usually do have the potential to win things, but for some reason our team doesn't. I'm getting a bit fed up with it.

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All about the money. Whatever way you slice ie.

The reality is, if you want to compete at the top, you have to have a considerable amount of financial muscle and the ways and means to use it.

Little or no consolation, but Arsenal have punched way above their weight in that respect recently. But it's a results based business, with little room for sentiment these days...

If the club want to move forward they are going to HAVE TO follow suite this summer and be aggressive in the transfer market this summer. If this does not happen they won't stay static, they'll fall further behind!

Both Nasri and Robin Van Persie left, and cited trophies as a reason for leaving.

What always doesn't add up in these situations, are the fact that they were part of our trophy-less squads for the past few years, so are as much to blame as anyone.

Robin Van Persie leaves Arsenal, and claims its all about the trophies, and drops in the not-so subtle hint that he feels he won't win anything whilst staying at Arsena, he's given 8 years of his career to the club blah blah blah....

The truth of the matter is, if he hadn't been stuck on the treatment table, I'm sure we'd have won more during the past 8 seasons. for example, in 2008 when we were so close to winning the league, he was fit for a grand total of 24 appearances in all competitions, scoring 11 goals.....

And who knows how well we would have done if Nasri had made his early season form in 2011/12 a more regular occurrence during his Arsenal career?

it just makes me laugh when these players absolve themselves of all blame for the squads they were a part of, ending trophyless, and the fact that they won the league with their new squads ultimately says very little,

Man City would have won the title last season with or without Nasri, and Man United are always up there at least, and could have won it without Van Purse Strings, who knows,

I of course, mean Nasri's 2010/11 form...

and could have won it without Van Purse Strings, who knows,

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Agree with all you said Chris.

But could/Utd have won the League without RVP? In my opinion no way! He was the difference!

From a Utd point of view, that was good business, even if they did not want to pay the 24 million quid fee. RVP was the deal that won them the league and Fergie should take the credit for that. Right move at the right time (from a Utd point of view).

why doesn't anyone want to face up to the fact that it could be the manager and the structure at the club?

the winning mentality has seeped away over the years as player trading and profit became the focal point!

we couldn't even win the cc against a team that got relegated.

players like persie,na$ri,fabregas see this mentality from the inside and left before they became infected by it

You pay good wages overall - the problem is you pay your pony players almost as much as your top ones

I think you are underachieving considering the extra 50m or so you spend on wages than us for example - 1pt in it last season, a rizla in this one too.

Either that or we have had two super-managers in Redknapp and AVB - you spending more, having better players AND a better manager doesn't add up

spurtz have out spent us in net transfers for donkey's

also redknapp is an average manager who's won one facup in his entire career and bankrupted about 3 different clubs

Don't buy the Spurs argument at all. I will however fully agree that the club have given certain players silly money that they are undeserving of.

But in terms of competing, you HAVE to spend the big money to get the best players to be able to compete. Arsenal have not done this, I hope they put it right this summer, because like I said, they won't just stay still, they'll go backwards.

comment by returnofDaSilvaSurfer (U12750)
posted 15 minutes ago
spurtz have out spent us in net transfers for donkey's

also redknapp is an average manager who's won one facup in his entire career and bankrupted about 3 different clubs

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We have actually spent very little net over the last 4yrs or so . The last time we spent big was in Jan 2009.

Using just transfer fees is ridiculous though - by that token you got Chamackh for free. In fact he has cost you probably 10m in wages over the last 2.5 years.

You probably think you are getting a free phone when you take out a 24mth contract at £40 a month

Joe Cole was 'free' to Liverpool but cost them 5m a year in wages.

Net transfer spend has to be added to wages expenditure for a true reflection.

The problem for Arsenal is trying to rely ONLY on youth/development policy. Why can't they see that buying one or two top players, instead of letting them leave, to compliment this policy would work!?!

You bought a few though over the last few years, no?

Podolski, Giroud, Arteta, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Monreal, Cazorla, Gervinho.

Not exactly cheap players. Not superstars all of them, but certainly not youth or unknowns. Solid internationals

Largely the players that need no development were panic buys in the last two seasons. Vermaelen, Giroud and Kos I would bracket into 'need(ed) development'.

Buying Podolski but losing RVP; buying Arteta but losing Cesc. Really we should be buying these players not selling them, instead of buying Podolski throw some money at Aguero (before he joined City).

Perhaps it's not quite that easy

Is it right you have quite a communist style wages policy? Top players earn only a little more than squad players?

I thought it was supposed to create a sense of team spirit or something along those lines - in reality it seems like it just makes your better players leave and hard to shift deadwood.

Gunnersaurus is imaged on Stalin

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