If we're going to sign a striker We'll probably just get Eto'o on a free at best.

Honestly, how many world class strikers are ever 'available'?

You simply have to pay the very high transfer fees that they command.

Pússyfooting around with the odd enquiry or tentative opening bid is not going to work. We need to back up our talk of being able to sign pretty much anyone with some action.

GT, you accuse me of stubbornness but for the last 3 windows your defence of us not signing a striker is that no one is 'available'

When someone gives you an example of an 'unavailable' striker being signed you say they weren't available because they had agreed to sign for other clubs....so they were available to the clubs that signed them?

Was Diego Costa available? No - Chelsea signed him. We could have got involved in that as early as Chelsea did.

I really want to hear what your definition of 'available' is and why it only seems to apply to Arsenal in terms of them being unavailable.
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Well Dotty reading through this thread you should have noticed that we tried to sign someone else upfront. Suarez. Simple. You know the saga as well.

I think we had interest in Higuain as well. We failed in that case because Napoli raised the fee over 30M. Wenger refused to that high fee. Dont want to comment if the high fee is justified.

So we were after striker. I don't know Wenger's assessment of world class or better than what we have.

What I know is that strikers like Falcao, Cavani or whoelse in that mould are not in the market. Like it or not.

comment by Valar Morghulis (U19399)
posted 3 minutes ago
Lewandowski is clearly superior to Mandzukic but I don't think he would have wetted his pants at the thought of competing with Giroud.
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So Mandzukic the world beater for Arsenal? Mmmhhh...the only thing I have to say about that.

Wenger would have tried for them, people act lie he sits around doing nothing just as he doesn't announce his plans to the media

So if we are trying for these players, then there's obviously a reason we're failing.....most likely to be that we won't match the transfer fee/wage demands.

If that's the case, we should stop pretending to be one of the big boys.

Dotty, dont forget the wages....Its not only to compete with the fee (Costa). Its about to compete with the wages in the final stage of a contract. The oil teams pay over the odds. Read about 300,000/week for Di Maria. Can we can compete on this front? Dont think so.

You don't have to be a world beater to be better than Giroud, lots of strikers are better than him.

We can't compete with Chelsea and City financially. Do you think players just earn the reported 100- 200k a week at those clubs? They get all sorts of bonuses and incentives that normal clubs just can't offer. Like Ferrari's if they score hatricks or ridiculous things like that.

GT
"So Mandzukic the world beater for Arsenal? Mmmhhh...the only thing I have to say about that."
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Nobody is saying Mandzukic is a world beater, but he is definitely better than Giroud.

yeah wages are the problem, if we give one new player huge wages, lots of the rest of the squad will start asking for more

Next summer will be interesting. Who will win the race about Reus?

comment by Gunnerthru (U6675)
posted 15 seconds ago
Dotty, dont forget the wages....Its not only to compete with the fee (Costa). Its about to compete with the wages in the final stage of a contract. The oil teams pay over the odds. Read about 300,000/week for Di Maria. Can we can compete on this front? Dont think so.
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If that's the case then it's fair enough. But why do people at Arsenal keep coming out and saying we can compete with these clubs in terms of fees and wages?

Do they not realise that fans get angrier when they are lied to in this regard than if Gazidis were to come out and say we can't compete with the oil clubs?

All that boasting has done has doubled the prices of the trademark '£12m' buys that we would pick up every season.

we don't just need better than giroud, we need different style, mandzukic is not that

Gazidis doesn't have a clue

We've had 2 years to sign an upgrade on Giroud (since RVP left). Absolutely ridiculous that we're in this situation.

comment by Valar Morghulis (U19399)
posted 1 minute ago
You don't have to be a world beater to be better than Giroud, lots of strikers are better than him.
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Agree 100% but Mandzukic doesnt justify to pay 16M.

Ok if we can't get a striker better than giroud, at least get one that is on par who is also better than sanogo.

Surely that can't be too hard or are all of those type of strikers also not available?

comment by Gunnerthru (U6675)
posted 1 minute ago
Next summer will be interesting. Who will win the race about Reus?
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He is in london talking to us according to the daily mail, Ive decided this is 100% true

".... why do people at Arsenal keep coming out and saying we can compete with these clubs in terms of fees and wages? Do they not realise that fans get angrier when they are lied to in this regard than if Gazidis were to come out and say we can't compete with the oil clubs?"
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Good point.

DiMaria is getting 125,000/week and Manchester United is not an 'oil' club.

Sometimes you have to pay over the odds for a player that you desperately need and United are doing exactly that. Was Javi Martinez available when Bayern decided to sign him?

comment by ● (U4443)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Gunnerthru (U6675)
posted 15 seconds ago
Dotty, dont forget the wages....Its not only to compete with the fee (Costa). Its about to compete with the wages in the final stage of a contract. The oil teams pay over the odds. Read about 300,000/week for Di Maria. Can we can compete on this front? Dont think so.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If that's the case then it's fair enough. But why do people at Arsenal keep coming out and saying we can compete with these clubs in terms of fees and wages?

Do they not realise that fans get angrier when they are lied to in this regard than if Gazidis were to come out and say we can't compete with the oil clubs?

All that boasting has done has doubled the prices of the trademark '£12m' buys that we would pick up every season.
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We cant compete with wages at the very top. That is for sure. How it pants out in the end remains to be seen.

where did you get that from?

comment by Valar Morghulis (U19399)
posted 1 minute ago
DiMaria is getting 125,000/week and Manchester United is not an 'oil' club.

Sometimes you have to pay over the odds for a player that you desperately need and United are doing exactly that. Was Javi Martinez available when Bayern decided to sign him?
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You can be sure that Özil is paid very well at Arsenal

di maria will be on far more than £125000