Arsenal Transfers & Pre-Season - Page 11

BENDTNER. BENDNTER. *extra sass* BENDTNER.

I still don't see it as money grabbing. If he left Arsenal for Anzhi or one of these rich China clubs, that'd be money grabbing. He's going to a better team, more equipped to win trophies and he's getting a pay raise, as is common when you leave one club to go to a better one.

If a player left Bolton to go to Arsenal would that be money grabbing - because they'd certainly be getting a pay raise? Not in my opinion. And I'm sure not in the opinion of Arsenal fans - it'd be he's advancing his career. Whether or not Arsenal fans like it, City are now at a stage when leaving Arsenal for City is advancing your career, or at the very least advancing your opportunity to win stuff.

It's been however many years now since Arsenal have won something, in the meantime clubs like Tottenham (who've never really looked settled top 4 club) have won things, Liverpool (who for the most part have been sliding quickly away from being anywhere near a top 4 club) have won things.

There is only so long a top player is going to accept "finishing 3rd/4th" as some sort of achievement. I think I said it on here 12-18 months ago, any top club who strives to "finish x(anything but first)" and would put that ahead of winning a trophy or any sort of tangible success is unambitious. Finishing 4th might be good financially, but no-one looks back on their career and goes "ahh that season when we finished 3rd was great...", what is finishing in the top 4 anyway? The opportunity to enter an extra competition that you won't win? Players want to win stuff, and if Van Persie's reasoning for leaving Arsenal is that he doesn't believe that Wenger and this current Arsenal crop of players can deliver that then I'd have to agree with his reasons for wanting to leave.

so do you lot want to keep rvp for the next season?

i mean, the money you get from the sale would be gobbled up by your board anyway l0l

quote jimbo_bwfc

I still don't see it as money grabbing. If he left Arsenal for Anzhi or one of these rich China clubs, that'd be money grabbing. He's going to a better team, more equipped to win trophies and he's getting a pay raise, as is common when you leave one club to go to a better one.

His statement about ambition was referring to a meeting he held with Gazidis and Wenger after he's reported to have agreed terms with City. The line he's put out is codswallop aimed at turning attention away from him and onto the club that he 'respects'.

That said, long gone are the times where you can say a move from Arsenal to City/United/Barcelona aren't a step up.

quote

Finishing 4th might be good financially, but no-one looks back on their career and goes "ahh that season when we finished 3rd was great...", what is finishing in the top 4 anyway? The opportunity to enter an extra competition that you won't win? Players want to win stuff, and if Van Persie's reasoning for leaving Arsenal is that he doesn't believe that Wenger and this current Arsenal crop of players can deliver that then I'd have to agree with his reasons for wanting to leave.

I can nigh on guarantee that players like Modric will look back on a win over AC Milan in the CL far more fondly than he will winning a Carling Cup.

quote NathanTheGoonerBoy

out of curiosity what do you mean by this? if you mean by the board putting money into the club then *bleep* it, it's clear to see we're not going to improve as a club by getting rid of our best players and not bringing in real quality.

Sigh.

If it were as simple as this, everybody would do it.

quote

I want us to win things and without the board sticking their finger out we're not going to do that, who cares how financially prudent we are from a fans perspective.

Rangers, Portsmouth and Leeds United fans might care.

Do you want us to operate at a loss, just for the sake of winning a Carling Cup? I don't.

I don't want to become some plaything, I don't want to see us buying success, I don't want to see us collecting a bunch of mercenaries. I want to see us continue to bring through our Jack's, our Wojciech's, develop our Theo's, our Alex's, and uncover our Cesc's.

Just take a look at the argument in favour of splashing out and investing heavily.

If you ran a business (which Arsenal are), and you decided to try and compete with the shops around you by spending all your money on flash new shelving and signs. Sure, you might notice a few new customers coming in. But you're operating at a loss. You cannot sustain this.

I *bleep*ing love that my club runs itself properly, there's very few clubs in the country that can make such claims; oh no, we've not won a trophy in a few years. Arsenal will still go on, there's no danger whatsoever of us doing a Portsmouth, of doing a Rangers.

I'll still have the best stadium in the country to go and watch my team, I'll still have one of the best youth academies in the country to trust, and I'll still have a team.

Yeah, I'll take that over the circus Chelsea have had for the past 10 years, trophies or not.

I've never had to worry about managers being sacked mid season, random players coming and going, seeing no return whatsoever from a youth system.

Trophies aren't the be all and end all, not to me. And they shouldn't be for most sensible Arsenal fans. We've never been one of the top teams in the country as consistently as we have been under Wenger (maybe under Chapman) and if that starts to slip then it's just a sign of the times. I'd much rather stick to the ethos we have now than try and take a punt on some sketchy, scummy, Jabba-The-Hut-alike who's only interest is to pump his spare change into a football club for a few years.

Fwiw I'm still cricital of our current situation, Gazidis has a lot to answer for with regards to our income, but there's far more detail than necessary and I cba to sum it up after a bit of a rant.

quote g_lfc

[youtube][/youtube]

Arsenal fans.

This......is outstanding.

I might watch it again now

Absolutely rofl at him going nuts shouting Bendtner, then flipping out at the end and quickselling a load of van Persies

"you know what.... YOU KNOW WHAT....how about this HOW ABOUT THIS *quicksells* YEAH"

quote jimbo_bwfc

If it's as cut and dry at his end with regards to having agreed terms, why is he having meets with Gazidis and Wenger to discuss his future with Arsenal or with any future ambitions that Arsenal might have?

His statement said that financial terms weren't discussed, and I assume he let them knew he wasn't going to sign there and then. He went into the meeting with his future already decided as far as I'm concerned. If he's going to hypothetically agree financial terms with City then why did he not do the same with us providing certain requirements about squad strengthening were met?

quote

If all the hostility is based on Ian McGarry saying he's agreed terms with City then it seems a little bit jumping the gun.

Duncan Castles (who's pretty reliable) broke it months before this 'meeting', and then there's also the Van Persie pictures of him sat with a friend of one of the City owners which was hastily denied.

quote

Coming out with a statement to force their hand and to undermine his teammates is definitely disrespectful but I don't see it as a clear case of money grabbing.

Has anybody actually said it is a clear case of money grabbing though? I thought that most sensible people have admitted that it's not solely about the money, but it has played a factor?

Vos, one of van Persie's agents, admitted to being a guest of some Man City executive at the Etihad some months ago.

quote DjedwardSmith

quote NathanTheGoonerBoy

signing some quality players and keeping our best ones doesn't automatically mean going under haha

Please justify it to me.

quote

but of course I don't want us to go under, but I don't also want to see the likes of Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea finish ahead of us in years to come just because the board want to make some money off of us

Yeah you really don't understand our finances at all.

well again, as a supporter, I want us to do well and want to see us win things. I don't go to games to admire how nice our stadium or academy are, I go to see the team I love win and it doesn't seem as if we have the ambition to go out and win things. Spending too much time signing excuses for players and putting them on stupid wages to match. Putting the ticket prices up also is pathetic considering we've been at the same level (perhaps even lower) for the last few years. Other big teams are getting on fine by spending money on quality rather than taking a gamble on a couple 'gambles' as such.

You're right, I don't know the ins and outs of our finances, but to the board it seems as if we're nothing more than a business, a money making scheme.