Declan Rice

[MafeotulBlue]

City are still alive here :)

Wife just said, who the fuck is Tolmie, and why are you smiling.

 

[BringBackSwales]

There is much truth in that but to suggest our plan falls apart should we fail to secure Rice is an exaggeration because I think we would then secure someone else.

Let’s not forget that at Christmas time Partey and Xhaka were being hailed as the best centre miss in the country. That ended well didn’t it?

 

[Jack Hackett]

I'm not sure I'd use a Talksport caller to make your point. Also, you do know that entire fan bases don't all have the same opinion? I've never once called for Arteta to be sacked for instance, even when we were 15th or whatever we were.

I wholly agree with that. Those calling for Arteta’s head were a small but vocal minority. I’m a season ticket holder and none of the guys I know wanted Arteta out. Whatever dissent existed was hyped up by the media believing Twitter is the real world.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Used to think they were preferable to Spurs fans, but maybe I was wrong.

Turds from the same arsehole

 

[SWPISHOME]

There is much truth in that but to suggest our plan falls apart should we fail to secure Rice is an exaggeration because I think we would then secure someone else.

How's the title race going fella?

 

[BringBackSwales]

I'll let Jack fight his own battles, but Zinchenko has been doing all season what Klopp is only starting to do with Trent. Seems we want Timber from Ajax to give us an option to do likewise on the right hand side.

Zinchenko is a great lad, but as a defender he is fucking shit, as a midfield player he is distinctly average

 

[svennis pennis]

I wholly agree with that. Those calling for Arteta’s head were a small but vocal minority. I’m a season ticket holder and none of the guys I know wanted Arteta out. Whatever dissent existed was hyped up by the media believing Twitter is the real world.

My best friend is an Arsenal season ticket holder and been going since he was a kid. He was the complete opposite and wanted him sacked, as did his entire family and season ticket going mates. Maybe they were in the minority you mention but I have a feeling that captain hindesite is at play now as suddenly he also never wanted Arteta to be sacked and now claims he always wanted Arteta to be given time.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Think both sides are happy with the deals mate, I said yesterday, you moved on and won the treble, we got 15 points better than the season before and up to top 2, so it's 1 of those transfers where all sides are happy. Think it's obvious we are playing catch-up, we were way down in 8th place.



As I mentioned above bud, I'll take being so far behind in 2nd place over being so far behind in 8th place just now.

Did you only finish 8th the season before last? You had top 4 nailed on as well

 

[GunnerGer]

£80M is a lot for a couple of stopgaps

If it secures a couple of consistent Top 4/5 places, it's money well spent.

As has been mentioned, we are playing catch up, both on and off the park, where we were poorly managed for a good few years.

We bought poor, sold poor, lost our top 4 place, been overtaken by all our rivals in terms of driving revenue growth etc.

If we want to be a consistent challenge to City, we need to build the club back up, qualify for the Champions League regularly again, and use that to improve commercially where we are lagging behind, which ultimately feeds back into improving the team.

Its not exactly rocket science, it's why you are so dominant, because you've done it better than the rest.

 

[BamberBridgeBlue]

I‘m not confident at all about the coming season. It depends upon a good transfer window and young players maintaining their form. Even then, it’s difficult to see us matching City for squad strength in depth, essential if you’re to challenge for the title. However, my main point in this thread is that Arsenal despite the dismissiveness expressed by many posters on this thread, is not without its own attractions for Rice as I’ve already stated. The attractions of joining City are all too obvious but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any questions he’d want assurances on.

Such as:

1. Will my first season with City be as an understudy?
2. Some City players are ageing/going…can City maintain the excellence of the season just gone? Having been so successful, will the hunger still be there?
3. Will Pep step down in 2 years?
4. Will the PL make their FFP charges stick and if so, what are the repercussions likely to be?
5. Would I prefer to stay in London?

I‘ve no idea what the answers to those questions will be but at age 24, Rice is on the verge of committing himself to a contract likely to define his career.

As for the coming season, my only hope is we maintain our challenge for the title and secure top 4 again. Winning the title is an aspiration but realistically is unlikely.

Lastly, I’m too old and cynical to be crushed by disappointment…being a football fan means hoping for the best whilst expecting the worst. As much as I want Arsenal to succeed, there are more important things in life and in that regard I’m grateful to be fortunate.

Come on, we all know the answer to 4 don’t we? That’s the £1.50 ew bet on the 200-1 shot in The Grand National. If there was anything serious amiss we’d already be discussing how we gave Wrexham and Notts County a run for their money last season.