Arsenal 2020-21: Here Comes The Arteta

[Buzzrock 14,922]

Troopz went on Pardon My Take (barstool podcast) to try to explain the impact of ESL. He did a pretty good job and those dumb Americans seemed to get the problem by the end.

[WBT 20,596]

 

[Dutch 4,472]

Spoiler

VV : I just wanted to say first of all to all of you on this call and obviously to all Arsenal fans, I am really, really sorry for Arsenal's part in what has been I know a hugely difficult, really disturbing week for football, and in particular our fans. I just wanted to be really clear how sorry I am for what has happened this week. I thought I would try and give you just a little bit of background to this sorry tale. None of this meant to excuse what happened at all or meant to water down the apology. But I wanted to talk a little bit about it and correct some of the things out there that aren't correct. The first thing I want to talk about is despite the stories to the contrary, Arsenal were absolutely, 100 per cent categorically not the authors or drivers of this proposal. That doesn't excuse what happened but we were not the authors of this proposal. As I said in the last Fans' Forum, there are frequently Super League proposals out there that are developed by others, not by Arsenal. Our approach that we have said publicly and privately lots of times, is always to listen and to make sure we protect the best interests of Arsenal. In this situation, what was clear to us is the train was leaving the station. This project was about to be launched with some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and we needed to assess if this launch happened without us, and this tournament came to fruition without us, what that would mean for the club. Due to concerns of that becoming a reality and us being left behind, we made the decision to join. I'm not trying to justify it, absolutely 100 per cent and I'm not trying to say that's OK but I'm trying to explain it. It became immediately apparent that we made a bad decision, but a terrible one. When you make a bad decision you don't want to follow up with another one, so we immediately got out as quickly as we possibly can. Now we need to say sorry to lots of people. Our players, our staff, the authorities, other Premier League clubs and most importantly our fans. From a personal perspective this has been incredibly painful. I hope you know that I love this football club. I work every hour of every day to make us be the best we can be and to build the best relationship we can between the club and our fans. I hope I demonstrated that to you over many months and years and I certainly haven't become a different person overnight. For me I found it really, really tough and my focus now is doing the same. Doing what we can to repair any damage that is done and moving forward to move the club forward. I certainly won't be forgetting the mistakes that I made here and it's made me even more determined to move the club forward.

JK: I'm here today to talk and Vinai echoed many of the sentiments to the word. Leadership from my perspective, if any of you lead different organisations in your own lives, making unpopular decisions that you feel benefit larger groups over time is part of leadership. Leadership is also recognising when you are wrong. Quickly correcting your course of action, apologising for your actions and then educating yourself on how to lead better in the future. That's what I'm here to do today. I'm here to explain and listen. As this project took shape in a very, very fast manner we asked ourselves two key questions. The first question we asked ourselves, what is worse - a Super League or a Super League without Arsenal? That was a very tough one for us to weigh, but basically the decision we made was a Super League without Arsenal was the worst of those answers. That's what we acted upon. The second question was 'what do the fans want?'. We tried to answer that question in many ways as possible. We are obviously bound by certain confidentiality aspects of the decision we were thinking about making. It was a much more complicated answer then we had time to contemplate. I think the global fan wants to see Arsenal vs Barcelona regularly, as much as possible. I think the European fan wants to see more big matches between top clubs because their domestic league is so predictable. I think from an English fans' perspective, this is what was so educating to me over the last 24 or 48 hours, going back 36 hours now - sorry this has been kind of a blur of a week, I haven't slept much. For the English fan they want to see more big matches, but as one Chelsea supporter wrote on a sign I saw online the other day - you still want your cold nights in Stoke. To me that sent a strong message that the EPL, football in the UK as a whole and the fan sentiment in England. We got it wrong and that's why we're here today apologising and to discuss with you. That doesn't mean a lot of our concerns and frustrations weren't addressed or we don't still have those concerns. None of our intentions as part of this project were to harm the Premier League or English football in any way. Really, most of our frustrations resided in larger conversations about European football as a whole. You've heard us talk primarily about the stability of the football pyramid and that is generally what we were trying to accomplish when we were part of these conversations in recent weeks. We can talk about FFP enforcement, we can talk about are we doing enough at European level to combat racism. But for the stability of the football pyramid and talking about grassroots programmes, that we are all for, we want to make sure we're maximising those revenues and those opportunities to stabilise the footballing pyramid. Did we go about it in the incorrect manner this time? Absolutely. But we still think those issues reside. I can use, from a personal example, the match in Baku. I met some amazing people, I enjoyed my trip very much, aside from the 90 minutes of the match. It was a beautiful city and I had a great trip, but from the travel logistics to the ticket allocation, to the general environment of the stadium I wondered if you're having a European final between two London giants, if it was truly being maximised to its potential for the greater benefit of the football pyramid as a whole. We haven't really got to this and there are certain things about politics in Europe like myself in America will never understand. We couldn't even bring one of our starting XI to the most important matches of the season that year, which was incredibly frustrating from a club perspective. From a transparency of governance, we feel those issues still reside and we want to continue to work on those. We understand there are emotions involved, we want to hear those emotions, I want to understand those emotions and that's why I'm here today to listen. From myself, my father and KSE, we apologise for the angst that we caused everyone and the situation that we put ourselves in. I apologise and I'm here to listen to you guys.

AV: I can assure you Josh, it's not just you that hasn't slept. A lot of us haven't slept for about five days, trying to do our day job around trying to fight this. You asked yourself two questions, 'is it worse to have an ESL with Arsenal in or not' and 'what do fans want'?. That's an interesting question to me because I don't think I've been asked, I don't think anybody else here has been asked. You talk about leadership, about making decisions for the club. Leadership is also listening to your 'customers'. I'm going to use that terminology because that's what I feel I am to you, a customer. You've never once listened to us so I rebuff that massively. I've got three questions, but my first question is around the actual Super League. Do you believe that tournaments without sporting merit are actually a good thing?

JK: I believe in sporting merit, yes.

AV: So why did you sign up to a Super League that potentially wasn't about sporting merit and kills the domestic game?

JK: I go back to my original answer the first question that we asked ourselves was a Super League or a Super League without Arsenal.

AV: Are Arsenal still contracted to the Super League? Arsenal would have incurred costs here. Will KSE be paying for them and not Arsenal Football Club?

JK: Absolutely. And to the second part of your question I would actually refer to Vinai for where we are in the legal process because it's a complicated answer.

VV: On the contract situation I need to be careful with what I say because of the legal stuff. Effectively we are leaving, we are just working through the process of what that means contractually. We are just working through the legal formalities of what that means.

AV: Are you giving us assurance that this will never happen again?

JK: As that proposal was constructed, yes.

AV: If you're really sorry will you actually bother to engage with fans more? Considering that's one of your key questions and you've never done it, are you actually going to commit to engaging with fans more? And would you ever consider reps at boardroom level? This club needs fans at boardroom level to represent. You got this wrong this week. It was a disgrace, the way you did it, it was cowardly, you launched it and did not even justify it. I don't think you still have justified it personally. It's clear that you don't know enough about our game. You don't know enough about our club. Our club is built on traditions, on values, and class. We've talked about that a lot.

JK: If you're expecting to see me more, absolutely. Let's start on this call right now. From a board perspective, we as a club came together and made the decision as a board. That's why we put out the statement as we did, apologising immediately and if you're hoping to interact with me on a more meaningful basis going forward, you have my word that's absolutely the case.‹

AV: We've said no to a European Super League many times. A rep at boardroom level would have told you that.

JC: In 2019 you said that we should 'be excited'. What should we be excited about? The Super League?

JK: No.

JC: Can you elaborate on those comments then?

JK: Be excited for the future of Arsenal Football Club.

JC: At the minute I feel ashamed to be part of Arsenal Football Club because of what's gone on.

JK: I understand that sentiment.

JC: Does KSE have long-term investment plans for Arsenal apart from the Super League?

JK: Absolutely.

ZW: I'm ashamed to be an Arsenal fan. I couldn't sleep because I was so upset that a club I care about so much would do something like this. When will your father speak to us or Arsenal fans? He's the majority shareholder, he runs the club, why has he never spoken to an Arsenal fan? Secondly, can you guarantee that Arsenal will never play their home matches away from Islington? And thirdly, why should we believe a single word that you've told us today. I can hear from the tone of your voice that you're not really interested in being here, or that's certainly the impression you're giving. When can we expect to speak to you or your father next?

JK: I would say that if you're hearing from me you're hearing from my father. I've always said that for years now. When I speak or he speaks you're usually hearing from both of us. I might not be my father but that's why I'm here today. As far as the tone of my voice, I'm doing my best to try and convey the feelings that are in my heart. From a trust perspective I'm not asking you to trust me. All of our trust was shredded this week, I fully understand that. That's why I'm trying to rebuild some sort of relationship with the supporters, starting with yourselves.

ZW: Can you guarantee we will never play home matches away from London while you and KSE own Arsenal?

JK: I can guarantee that.

M: Do you still consider yourselves fit and proper owners and custodians of our club? Are KSE fully aware that the vast majority of the fanbase believe that you're not fit to the owners of our football club? Do you believe that this damage is repairable or will KSE be looking to sell their shares in Arsenal?

JK: I still believe we're fit to carry on in our positions as custodians of Arsenal. We were put in a very difficult position by forces outside of the club. To go back to those original questions that we got wrong, those were the questions we asked ourselves and that's why I'm here to try and piece everything back together over time. I'm not asking for your trust immediately. We have the same plans for summer as we had a few weeks ago, and I'm so excited about those. I might be met with distrust and skepticism but over time I hope to re-establish a relationship with our supporter groups and show them we're capable of leading the club forward.

BG: You keep saying that 'we hear you fans'. You didn't speak to us in the first place about this. We will be lobbying government to get fan representation at boardroom level. What is your view on that? Who has made this ridiculous decision? Was it you, your father or Lord Harris, or the board?

JK: It was the board. As a club we made the decision, we kept asking ourselves very difficult questions. The two main ones which I've gone over repeatedly. It was a group decision. We wanted everyone's opinion to see what everybody thought. I want to interact more in a more meaningful way whether that's at board level or in a Fans' Forum. This has been an education unto itself of the power of football fans across the world and the power of Arsenal fans, which is spectacular to see honestly.

BB: What are your feelings on fan groups or a representative of the fans being at board level?

JK: Hm, it's a very tough one. I think there's pros and there's cons. In the wake of everything that's transpired in the last few days we're going to be asking ourselves many questions, including the one you just asked me. So while I'm not giving you a yes or no answer, it's definitely something that's up for discussion.

B: One quick way you could build trust with fans is to show the meeting notes from these things. Josh, I keep saying to myself if I had the opportunity to run Arsenal Football Club, there are millions of people in the world who would look at you like a hero. Why don't you get involved with us and make this club great again? You have got an opportunity that noone else has. You need to do something for us. There's going to be 20,000 fans outside the stadium tomorrow, which is all down to a terrible decision for financial gain. What about the 360 other clubs in the English league? Is that the Arsenal way? We leave them behind? I'm disgusted.

JK: All I can say is you have my word. You're going to be seeing a lot of me as you have hopefully the last few years more and more over in London with the club. To the point I made earlier, I know the trust has been shredded but you're going to be seeing my try to rebuild that both now and in the future. Hopefully whether that's in many years time or sitting in person having a pint, I prefer my interactions to be in person. I made a point about my conversations being delayed because of the pandemic and that's definitely because I do have a preference of meeting people in person. You will be seeing me more, I look forward to interacting with you guys and attempting to rebuild that trust.

DW: Some of the fans also appreciate your effort to help the club. We understand the financial difficulties that we've been going through during the pandemic. We are very concerned about the values and traditions that our club represent. What is the punishment going to be for leaving the ESL and who is going to cover it?

JK: Anything related to the ESL will be handled outside the club, with KSE. We've done our best to be true to our values as long as we've been involved with the club. From the self sustaining model to the different values that the club represents all throughout our history. This has been one inflection point where obviously these values were not upheld. We're not trying to say that we were. This was a unique moment in time that was very difficult for a lot of reasons. We're going to be about those values both now and moving forward. This was a moment in time that was very difficult and we did obviously not honour those traditions.

PH: You say the trust has been broken. But I don't believe that's true, because as fans of Arsenal we've never trusted you. I know that's very offensive but that's the reality that you need to learn. It's really important that you engage with fans much, much more if you want to gain our trust. Right now people are asking what would it take for you to sell the club? That's the reality that I want you to consider really hard. I would like to ask you what will you do to engage more with fans?

JK: What will I do to engage more with fans? Well, starting with interactions such as this on Microsoft Teams. When I'm in there in person we're going to be sitting down in a boardroom as we did over in Highbury several years ago. There's going to be many more interactions like this. It's not going to be a surprise. It's going to be a scheduled appearance by myself with dialogue back and forth between the likes of us.

PH: From our perspective we've never had a conversation with you and that's so easy. There's so many people here who would love to help you make Arsenal a fantastic club. Just engage with us, take our invitation.

JK: Absolutely, I accept. And to your point about trust I am well aware that we've never really had trust, and what teeny bit we had taking forward I know that's been shredded as well. That's why I continually say I'm here to try and build that bridge, if there ever was a plank or no planks on the bridge of trust, I'm here to start to try and build that trust.

PH: I promise you the guys here are willing to meet with you on a weekly basis to let you know what we want as fans. We want to help you if you want to engage with us, that's the challenge.

JK: Thank you, Peter.

SG: As you've had the opportunity to reflect over the last few days, could you tell what was missing from the decision making process of the board to end up in this situation? When the next offer comes along what will you do differently?

JK: The answer to your first question is obviously we misjudged a lot of things. We rushed into a decision because of time constraints. I think the first thing we would do differently is to consult a lot more people with regards to certain confidentiality aspects, including supporter groups. We know how everyone feels about the proposal as it was constructed, so if anything like that come across our desks in the future it wouldn't be something that we'd entertain.

JS: The media is talking about the £8m penalty fine for the Super League. Are KSE going to pay this? And are we looking forward to take anybody from the 55 redundancies back?

JK: To the first part of your question regarding the financial aspect, as I've stated on the call previously KSE is covering all outside costs related to the Super League. The club is not incurring anything. From a redundancy perspective we made some very difficult decisions as part of the pandemic, to make sure the club is running as efficiently as possibly. They were not fun or popular decisions to make, internally or externally but they were ones we felt we had to make at that time.

VV: On the redundancy stuff we've obviously spoken about those at Fans' Forums before. Horrendously difficult decisions to make made because of the extreme impact the pandemic has had on our football club, to make our club more sustainable for the future. Those are decisions we can't go back and change. I can't give you the number but for your information that article about the club spending £8m on equity stakes, that number is absolutely miles out in terms of too high.

JW: I'm from Gay Gooners. Arsenal leads the way in equality and inclusion across the game. I've had many difficult conversations this week across the game from all different levels. Our position as a focal point as leaders in the fan movement has been put at risk through the ESL decision. How will the club ensure they repair their relationship with other clubs? But also ensure their fan clubs have their respect restored?

VV: In terms of relationships with other clubs I think that's a really good and important point. I think I said we made a terrible decision to do this that we need to make some good decisions after. The first was getting out of this as quickly as possible and the second is demonstrating to people how sorry we are about the decision we made. I've been in touch now with every single one of the clubs who were not part of this proposal to offer an absolute unreserved apology from Arsenal to their club for what we've done. I've explained what happened, why we did it, that we're hugely regretful and we had discussed how we would best work together going forward. Those relationships are obviously different at each one of the clubs but we're obviously working hard to rebuild each one and ensure that Arsenal's good name and good reputation gets restored to where it should be.

FK: Josh, you mentioned about class and tradition, and cited self sustaining model. Clearly the self sustaining model isn't working. When are you going to admit that it isn't working and when are you going to start investing substantial funds into Arsenal Football Club? If you don't want to, when do you want to sell.

JK: I think that question is a very interesting one. We're always willing to provide resources for Arsenal Football Club, as we have supported the club the last several years. I think the question you're asking also resides in a much larger question about football. If you're always going to be recruiting the next person to pump tens and hundreds of millions into a club that is not a sustainable operation across Europe anywhere. For us, I think we're not afraid to be aggressive at different points in time. Hopefully you've noticed over the last few transfer windows we have been more aggressive. That was part of the discussion we had internally amongst the six clubs in the UK and in Europe. The model that is currently out there is not sustainable over the long-term, and that should very much worry supporters. While the answer to your question 'who is the next wealthy person who can come in and just funnel money into the club' and I don't think that's the right answer for Arsenal Football Club or football as a whole.

FK: If somebody doesn't come in and do that we're just going to fall lower and lower down the pyramid. That's not what we want. We want to be great again.

JK: 100 per cent correct. That's what we want as well. That's simply not a sustainable model for global football. That's why I go back to some of my comments about governance. Whether it's about FFP enforcement or things of that nature we need transparency at certain levels of governance otherwise the game is not going to be at a good place in the future.

FK: What is your exit strategy and when do you want to sell?

JK: I'm not willing to answer that question because we have no intention of selling.

VV: Just to build on that point, my personal view is that if the football model based on trying to find as many people as we can out there who are going to pump money into football clubs and they're not going to be able to stand on their feet, I think the industry is in real trouble. Because if you don't have a healthy top of the pyramid - that's the challenge we have that moment. Not Arsenal I should say, have their backs to the wall. If those clubs fail then they can't pay the money they owe to the other clubs and those clubs fail, then the whole pyramid collapses. I will say for the record KSE have refinanced our stadium debt to effectively £200m, we're going to lose well over £100million this year and it's KSE standing behind that. Whatever we do in this transfer window it's KSE standing behind that

JK: I just want to say I do appreciate that question. Because it's such a complicated answer that leads to some of the true issues we have gripes with. Back to the governance in European football. I look forward to interacting with you and the other supporters groups going forward because I do love this club. I know it's been a crazy week at a lot of levels and we have not represented us or yourselves in a positive manner, both internally and externally. But you're going to be seeing a lot more of myself, we're going to be interacting a lot more. It's on myself and the rest of the board to push this club forward and we're going to be listening to you guys a lot. So thank you for the question.

Full text 

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/every-word-josh-kroenke-said-20447252

[Dutch 4,472]

Oh, and we have a match tonight with Everton. Multiple supporter's groups are planning protests.  

[Ted Lange 16,110]

https://youtu.be/pNLLoFBpLxI

 

[Surly Bevo 25,028]

This fucking team

[Ted Lange 16,110]

Terrible performance 

 

and f var 

 

[Dutch 4,472]

Well that sucked. Should have had first ever loss to Fulham, then suffer first home loss to Everton in 25 years. SMDH.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Dutch

[Dutch 4,472]

[Dutch 4,472]

Sad but true. He also omitted “get royally fucked by VAR.”

Edited April 25, 2021 by Dutch

[Dutch 4,472]

So this guy

this guy

 

and this guy

have decided to join Ek's bid for the club. Original story is from The Telegraph but is behind a paywall.  May only be a PR stunt (though why would three of the club's biggest legends need more PR with Gooners) but this should put some pressure on KSE. Not that Kroenke give a fuck, but I can hope.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12287394/arsenal-thierry-henry-dennis-bergkamp-and-patrick-vieira-to-join-daniel-ek-in-bid-to-buy-club

Edited April 26, 2021 by Dutch

[shadow_operative 15,932]

make him an offer he can't refuse. and then sign Mbappe. please and thank you. 

[idigTexas 2,289]

4 hours ago, Dutch said:

So this guy

this guy

 

and this guy

have decided to join Ek's bid for the club. Original story is from The Telegraph but is behind a paywall.  May only be a PR stunt (though why would three of the club's biggest legends need more PR with Gooners) but this should put some pressure on KSE. Not that Kroenke give a fuck, but I can hope.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12287394/arsenal-thierry-henry-dennis-bergkamp-and-patrick-vieira-to-join-daniel-ek-in-bid-to-buy-club

[Ted Lange 16,110]

 

[Dutch 4,472]

[Ted Lange 16,110]

 

 

[Dutch 4,472]

Looks like Tierney's knee is way better than initially feared.  What a massive boost if he is available for the second leg.

Meet our new physio...

Auba and Odegaard are available tomorrow as well.  

Edited April 28, 2021 by Dutch

[Dutch 4,472]

Like Hans Landa, I like a good rumor.  If true, it's as we all suspected and this fuckstick was one of the driving forces behind the SL.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Dutch

[Dutch 4,472]

Can we nick an away goal? Hopefully. Avoid defeat? That'd be ideal.

Pepe as the CF/False 9...interesting choice. Lot of attacking intent in the XI. Martinelli must have killed Arteta's dog for screwed his wife. Nonetheless...

COYG!

Edited April 29, 2021 by Dutch

[shadow_operative 15,932]

you just knew that was happening. hell, i'm almost relieved that we've gotten it out of the way. 

[Dutch 4,472]

SMDH

[shadow_operative 15,932]

the moment we drew Unai Emery's team i resigned myself to this fate. somehow it still hurts. 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

they're gonna call this pen back. and rightfully so. that was a hand ball. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by shadow_operative

[Dutch 4,472]

17 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

the moment we drew Unai Emery's team i resigned myself to this fate. somehow it still hurts. 

Emery has lost one, ONE, match in the knockout stages of the EL his entire career as a manager.  Sadly, we know which one. Villareal seem to be playing for him tonight.

One half left to staunch the bleeding and nick a goal.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

exactly. at this point a 2-1 final would feel like a major win. we were totally outclassed in that half. i'm merely hoping for that away goal and second half clean sheet at this point.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

Coquelin coming on is the highlight of the game for me thus far. 

[Dutch 4,472]

8 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

exactly. at this point a 2-1 final would feel like a major win. we were totally outclassed in that half. i'm merely hoping for that away goal and second half clean sheet at this point.

Totally.  Arteta better rejig during the break; that alignment (false 9s with no striker) failed pretty bad.

Cedric and Auba on, Ceballos and Chambers off.

Pepe to LB, Xhaka to MF, Auba up front.

[Dutch 4,472]

 

13 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Totally.  Arteta better rejig during the break; that alignment (false 9s with no striker) failed pretty bad.

Cedric and Auba on, Ceballos and Chambers off.

Pepe to LB, Xhaka to MF, Auba up front.

Shoulda listened, Arteta.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

Dani's first yellow was such a stupid and needless foul. The second yellow looked weak as shit, but Dani put himself in that position with that dumbass first booking.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

soft penalty, but boy did we need it. well done Pepé. 

[Dutch 4,472]

Lifeline!!!!

[shadow_operative 15,932]

lol @ Capoue acting like if he starts on the ground this will all go away. Capoue getting this red card is kind of like having sex with Ben Roethelisberger: you can kick and scream all you want, but it's going to happen. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15,932]

let's steal another away goal here boys. COYG. 

[Dutch 4,472]

Well, it all comes down to this.  A good ol’ “One-nil to The Arsenal” gets it done. Am I expecting us to hold Villarreal off the scoresheet? Tony Adams and Sol Campbell starting at center back? No? Well, then one can hope. Most likely it will take 3-1.

Hopeful but very nervous. GOYG

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Dutch

[Dutch 4,472]

Why is it obvious to everyone except Arteta that we cannot "play out of the back"? 

[Ted Lange 16,110]

2 biggest games of the season an Arteta runs out experimental lineups FFS

[Dutch 4,472]

That was the chance. Damn it. 

[Ted Lange 16,110]

Was Team Arteta all year.   But after these Europa semis, where we ran out 2 ridiculous lineups, play with a false 9 1st leg, then run out this 433 this leg, 1 shot on goal today.  1 goal in 190 minutes, on a PK for the series.

[Surly Bevo 25,028]

Whimper

[Dutch 4,472]

Yep. I really wanted Arteta to succeed but the tactics in the biggest tie of the season were all wrong. Players did not respond AT ALL with our only route to CL football on offer tonight. Pathetic. Outsmarted and outthought by the guy who wasn’t good enough. 

The squad is in dire need of a reboot (which we all know Kroenke isn’t investing the ~ £300m we need some to get competitive). Who’s the leader? Who’s the “we ain’t fucking losing this match even if I have to drag all you motherfuckers over the finish line” guy? Season on the line and we roll over? Like a bunch of bitches? Urgh.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Dutch

[Ted Lange 16,110]

And even if you had 300M, do we trust this group to use it wisely?

[Dutch 4,472]

Nope. 

[idigTexas 2,289]

[wishful thinking] Maybe with no money from European competitions forthcoming, Kroenke might be slightly more open to selling the club.[/wishful thinking]

[Buzzrock 14,922]

[shadow_operative 15,932]

take me back 😭 

 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

i still am not "Arteta Out", because for me, it's plain and simple: the board and owners said that they were going to build a project around Arteta and that they would give him the proper financial backing to do so. we twiddled our thumbs all last summer and in the end, we had to beg the Kroenkes to make a whopping €50M Euros available at the very last minute to buy one player. that's bullshit.

we should have paid Partey's release clause in early July and then brought in at least two more starting quality players, if not three, assuming we had actually sold players like Bellerin, El Neny, Guendouzi, Torreira, Xhaka, etc. had we brought in Partey, Auoar/Odegaard, a CB, and a RB then i don't think we'd be in this position, and if we were, then i'd firmly be "Arteta Out." at this point, if this club doesn't look completely different player-wise by the end of August, then they're going to lose a lot of my interest.

Edited May 9, 2021 by shadow_operative

[Hagbard Celine 10,869]

the first thing arsenal should do is the moment newcastle are safe (they need 1 point) recall joe willock even if he does want to sign at st. james.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

1 hour ago, Hagbard Celine said:

the first thing arsenal should do is the moment newcastle are safe (they need 1 point) recall joe willock even if he does want to sign at st. james.

Joe Willock has scored five goals for NUFC in his limited time there. he's more of an attacking threat than our entire starting XI at this point. 

[Buzzrock 14,922]

Been watching ATL UTD since I could get excited for the Gunners today, but damn what a pair of beautiful goals.

[Dutch 4,472]

Absentee owners who give zero fucks, a clueless front office, a manager out of his depth, a squad with the backbone of a chocolate eclair. The whole club needs to be torn down to the studs and rebuilt.